A leading food company plans to axe more than 400 jobs and close a factory under a "transformation programme".
Burton's Foods said its site at Moreton, Wirral, which makes Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels, is to close with the loss of 342 jobs, while 70 redundancies are proposed at a factory in Llantarnam, near Newport in South Wales.
The company said it was responding to an "increasingly challenging and competitive environment", adding that it was investing £7 million in Llantarnam and another site in Edinburgh.
The Unite union reacted with anger to the news, saying workers were "devastated" and added that the planned redundancies "give the lie" to the Government's claims that the private sector will create the jobs which will lead the UK to economic recovery.
Burton's said the announcement formed part of a new £25 million three year capital spending programme to build production capabilities, allowing the company to retain the manufacture of the vast majority of its products in the UK.
Ben Clarke, chief executive of Burton's Foods, said on Wednesday: "Today's announcements recognise the need to transform our supply chain. The proposed job losses are deeply regrettable but, along with the new £25 million investment we are making in our UK manufacturing capability, will help deliver sustainable profitable growth for the company in a highly competitive and challenging market."
The firm said it will now embark on a period of consultation with its employees and their representatives over the job cuts. Burton's also said it was introducing a flexible working approach at its manufacturing sites.
But Unite national officer Jennie Formby said: "The devastated workers believe the plant does have a future though, and have vowed to fight to save the factory and secure their jobs. Burton's has been part of the Wirral for generations, providing stable employment for families across the community. So we will fight with all our power to save this plant because closure is not an option. It will devastate this community.
"Our task now is to consult with our members on next steps, and to give them every reassurance of their union's support. This plant was saved from the axe in 2008 through the efforts of the workers, their friends in the community and their union. There is a mountain to climb but we will be putting everything in to saving it again."
Burton's Foods is a leading branded and own-label supplier of biscuits and snacks and is the second largest biscuit supplier in the UK. It owns and bakes brands such as Maryland Cookies, Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels, and bakes Cadbury's chocolate biscuits under licence.
A leading food company plans to axe more than 400 jobs and close a factory under a "transformation programme".
Burton's Foods said its site at Moreton, Wirral, which makes Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels, is to close with the loss of 342 jobs, while 70 redundancies are proposed at a factory in Llantarnam, near Newport in South Wales.
The company said it was responding to an "increasingly challenging and competitive environment", adding that it was investing £7 million in Llantarnam and another site in Edinburgh.
The Unite union reacted with anger to the news, saying workers were "devastated" and added that the planned redundancies "give the lie" to the Government's claims that the private sector will create the jobs which will lead the UK to economic recovery.
Burton's said the announcement formed part of a new £25 million three year capital spending programme to build production capabilities, allowing the company to retain the manufacture of the vast majority of its products in the UK.
Ben Clarke, chief executive of Burton's Foods, said on Wednesday: "Today's announcements recognise the need to transform our supply chain. The proposed job losses are deeply regrettable but, along with the new £25 million investment we are making in our UK manufacturing capability, will help deliver sustainable profitable growth for the company in a highly competitive and challenging market."
The firm said it will now embark on a period of consultation with its employees and their representatives over the job cuts. Burton's also said it was introducing a flexible working approach at its manufacturing sites.
But Unite national officer Jennie Formby said: "The devastated workers believe the plant does have a future though, and have vowed to fight to save the factory and secure their jobs. Burton's has been part of the Wirral for generations, providing stable employment for families across the community. So we will fight with all our power to save this plant because closure is not an option. It will devastate this community.
"Our task now is to consult with our members on next steps, and to give them every reassurance of their union's support. This plant was saved from the axe in 2008 through the efforts of the workers, their friends in the community and their union. There is a mountain to climb but we will be putting everything in to saving it again."
Burton's Foods is a leading branded and own-label supplier of biscuits and snacks and is the second largest biscuit supplier in the UK. It owns and bakes brands such as Maryland Cookies, Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels, and bakes Cadbury's chocolate biscuits under licence.
A 29-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a two-year-old boy, police have said.
The child, who has not been named, was pronounced dead on Sunday night after being taken to hospital from an address in Ward End, Birmingham.
West Midlands Police said a post-mortem examination indicated the boy died as a result of "non-accidental injuries".
A spokeswoman said on Wednesday: "All of the family have now been informed and a family liaison officer has been appointed to support them during this difficult time.
"A 29-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of murder at the time of the incident and have been helping police with their enquiries.
"Yesterday morning officers were granted a warrant of further detention at Birmingham Magistrates' Court."
Police now have until 10.30pm to continue questioning the pair, who are understood to be the boy's mother and her partner.
Disgraced Eric Illsley has said that he is quitting as an MP after being convicted of dishonestly claiming more than £14,000 in expenses.
The MP for Barnsley Central said he "deeply, deeply" regretted his actions and would be resigning before his sentencing next month.
In a statement issued by his office, Illsley said: "I would like to apologise to my constituents, family and friends, following my court appearance, for the distress and embarrassment caused by my actions that I deeply, deeply regret.
"I have begun to wind down my parliamentary office, following which I will resign from Parliament before my next court appearance. I will be making no further comment."
Illsley's decision to step down will be a relief to MPs who feared more damage to Parliament's already tarnished reputation.
The revelation on Tuesday that he could potentially receive his salary while in prison if a sentence of less than 12 months is imposed prompted both PM David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband to urge him to go voluntarily.
There had been suggestions that the House could be asked to back a motion expelling the MP, which would have been the first time such a mechanism had been used in decades.
But Commons Speaker John Bercow has made clear that could not happen until court proceedings were complete because the matter was still sub judice.
Prosecutors have dropped claims the founder of the English Defence League assaulted a police officer during clashes with Islamic protesters.
Stephen Lennon, 27, of Layham Drive, Luton, was due to go on trial on Wednesday afternoon at West London Magistrates' Court.
But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had withdrawn the charge after new evidence emerged.
However, a spokesman said Lennon will now face an offence under section four of the Public Order Act, but has yet to be charged.
Lennon was arrested by Met Police officers in Kensington, west London, as the nation stopped to mark the anniversary of Armistice Day last year.
He was among a group of EDL demonstrators which clashed with a militant Islamist group which burned poppies during the two-minute silence.
One officer suffered a head injury which required hospital treatment during the clashes involving more than 50 people.
Five others associated with his right-wing group were arrested and two Muslim protesters were held on suspicion of public order offences.
Members of the Islamist group Muslims Against Crusades have vowed to "expose the enemies of Islam".
Two men, aged 30 and 26, have since been charged with public order offences and are due to go on trial later this year.
The body of murdered honeymooner Michaela McAreavey is on its way back home from Mauritius.
Her widower John and her brother Mark were on the island as her coffin was taken from the hospital mortuary to the airport, where it will be flown to London on the first stage of her journey back home. It will then be flown on to Belfast.
It is expected the funeral of Mrs McAreavey - the daughter of Mickey Harte, the celebrated manager of Ireland's all-conquering Tyrone Gaelic football team - will take place close to her Co Tyrone home early next week, in the same church where she wed only weeks ago.
The repatriation is taking place as police continue their investigation into the murder in the luxury Legends Hotel on Monday.
Three hotel workers have appeared in court charged in connection with the murder of the 27-year-old teacher, whose body was found by her husband in her hotel room. She had been strangled.
The Mauritius Police Force said the two men charged with the murder were Avinash Treebhoowoon, 29, a room attendant from Plaine des Roches, and Sandip Moneea, 41, a floor supervisor from Petit Raffray. Room attendant Raj Theekoy, 33, from Ramnarain Cottage, faces the conspiracy charge.
Irish Ambassador in South Africa Brendan McMahon, who is on the holiday island, said his immediate aim was to get Mrs McAreavey's remains and family members home as soon as possible.
"We are certainly very hopeful this will happen (on Thursday) evening," he told RTE. "We hope and pray there will be not any last minute hitches."
Mr McAreavey, who had been on his own on the island until relatives arrived, said in a statement: "My beautiful wife, my best friend, my rock Michaela, has been taken from me and I still can't take it in. Our hopes, our dreams and our future together are gone. I love my wife very, very much and my world revolved around her."
Deadly floodwaters have finally begun to recede from the devastated streets of Brisbane, while officials warned it could be days before people can return to thousands of homes and businesses damaged in the disaster.
One man died in the city after being sucked into a storm drain by the muddy waters, said Queensland state premier Anna Bligh. The discovery, plus two other bodies found, brought the death toll from the floods to 25 since late November.
"Queensland is reeling this morning from the worst natural disaster in our history and possibly in the history of our nation," Ms Bligh said. "We've seen three-quarters of our state having experienced the devastation of raging floodwaters and we now face a reconstruction task of post-war proportions."
Officials told residents who had been evacuated from Australia's third-largest city that it would be days before they could return to some of the 30,000 inundated homes and businesses - though many of them will never be habitable again.
The flooding across Queensland has submerged dozens of towns - some three times - and left an area the size of Germany and France combined under water. Roads and rail lines have been washed away in the disaster, which is shaping up to be Australia's costliest. Damage estimates were already at £3.1bn before the floods swamped Brisbane.
At least 61 people are still missing and the death toll is expected to rise. Many of those unaccounted for disappeared from around Toowoomba, a city west of Brisbane that saw massive flash floods on Monday, with 14 people killed in that flood alone.
In one spot of bright news, the swollen Brisbane River's peak was about three feet lower than predicted, at a depth slightly below that of 1974 floods that swept the city.
Waters in some areas had reached the tops of roofs, shut down roads and power, and devastated entire neighbourhoods. Mayor Campbell Newman said 11,900 homes and 2,500 businesses had been completely inundated, with another 14,700 houses and 2,500 businesses at least partially covered in water.
In Brisbane, roads were flooded, railway lines were cut and sewage began spilling into the floodwaters. About 103,000 homes were without power across Queensland because electricity was switched off to prevent electrocutions and damage to electrical systems.
One tale has particularly transfixed the country: a 13-year-old boy caught in the flood who told strangers to save his 10-year-old brother first and died as a result. Jordan and Blake Rice were in the car with their mother, Donna, when a wall of water pummelled Toowoomba on Monday. A rescuer managed to reach the car but at Jordan's insistence, he pulled Blake out first, according to a third brother, Kyle.
Around 2,000 jobs are at risk at Manchester City Council, it has announced.
The authority said it has been "badly hit" by Government cuts and needs to reduce costs by 8.9% this year.
Officials are expected to unveil a new severance package to encourage workers to take voluntary redundancy.
The council said it will need to see its workforce reduced quickly and by about 2,000 staff - around 17% of the workforce.
Sir Richard Leese, leader of the Labour-controlled authority, said: "The unfairness of the Government's financial grant settlement for Manchester, one of the five worst in the country, has been widely reported.
"We now have to find £110m in savings next year - £60m more than expected - because of front-loading and the re-distribution of money from Manchester to more affluent areas.
"The accelerated cuts mean we can no longer achieve the staffing reductions we have been forced into through natural turnover which is why we are proposing a time-limited offer of voluntary severance and voluntary early retirement.
"At the same time we will continue to invest through our 'M People' employee programme to improve the skills and the productivity of the majority of our staff who will stay with us."
The Council said it plans to honour a pledge to avoid compulsory redundancies.
The up-front cost to the Council of the new severance package, which is subject to approval by the Council's executive on January 19, is likely to be in the region of £60m - but it will generate an annual saving of £70m.
Voters are heading to the polls in Oldham East and Saddleworth in the first by-election test of the new parliament.
The by-election was called after an election court declared last year's contest void after finding that Labour victor Phil Woolas had made false statements about the Lib Dem candidate Elwyn Watkins.
Prime Minister David Cameron has been repeatedly forced to deny that the Tories have run a half-hearted campaign in the by-election in a bid to bolster their Lib Dem coalition partners. He visited the constituency to join the campaign trail.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, and other Lib Dem ministers have paid numerous visits to the constituency to try to shore up their vote.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has also visited the constituency.
The result is expected in the early hours of Friday.
The full list of candidates in alphabetical order are: Debbie Abrahams (Labour); Derek Adams (British National Party); Kashif Ali (Conservative); Peter Allen (Green Party); David Bishop (Bus-Pass Elvis Party); The Flying Brick (Monster Raving Loony Party); Loz Kaye (Pirate Party of the United Kingdom); Stephen Morris (English Democrats); Paul Nuttall (UK Independence Party); Elwyn Watkins (Liberal Democrats).
The Government is to press ahead with plans to end compulsory retirement at 65 despite calls from business for the move to be delayed, it has been announced.
Employment relations minister Ed Davey said the abolition of the default retirement age was "great news for older people, great news for business and great news for the economy".
He dismissed warnings that allowing employees of pensionable age to stay in work would make it more difficult for young people to find jobs, insisting that the change will boost the economy and enlarge the size of the labour market.
The Institute of Directors has criticised the move - featured in both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat election manifestos - for reducing flexibility for employers.
Mr Davey said guidelines would make clear that employers will still be able to conduct performance appraisals and fairly dismiss staff found to be no longer capable of doing their jobs effectively.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Many older people have skills and a huge contribution to make to businesses and those businesses that have got rid of fixed retirement ages find it very beneficial. They have seen it boost their business, not have a negative effect."
Asked whether allowing older people to stay on in work would reduce the number of jobs available to younger workers, Mr Davey replied: "The opposite is the case. Because of this policy, the evidence suggests that there will be an increase in the number of workers in the workforce.
"That will boost the economy, increasing GDP, increasing tax revenue. Evidence internationally shows more people in the labour market means more activity, more income, more growth."
Officials said the change will be phased in between April and October to allow firms to ready themselves and amend their human resources policies.
The announcement coincides with the publication of the Pensions Bill, which includes raising the state pension age to 66, as announced by Chancellor George Osborne in last October's spending review.
US president Barack Obama has appealed for unity at a memorial service for those attacked in the Arizona shooting rampage and implored a divided America to honour them by becoming a better country.
Mr Obama electrified the crowd by revealing that following a hospital visit with Representative Gabrielle Giffords, she had opened her eyes for the first time since being shot in the head in the assassination attempt. First Lady Michelle Obama held hands with Ms Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, as the news brought a cascade of cheers.
While some have blamed America's overheated political climate and the use of violent imagery in campaigns, Mr Obama conceded that there is no way to know what set off Saturday's shooting rampage that left six people dead, 13 others wounded and the nation shaken. He tried instead to leave indelible memories of the people killed and to rally the country to use the moment as a reflection on America's behaviour and compassion.
"I believe we can be better," Mr Obama said to a capacity crowd at the University of Arizona basketball arena. "Those who died here, those who saved lives here - they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us."
Mr Obama said Ms Giffords, known as Gabby, opened her eyes a few minutes after he left her intensive care hospital room at Tucson's University Medical Centre, where some of her colleagues in Congress remained.
"Gabby opened her eyes, so I can tell you: She knows we are here, she knows we love her, and she knows that we are rooting for her through what is undoubtedly going to be a difficult journey," he said. Ms Giffords is expected to survive, although her condition and the extent of her recovery remain in doubt.
As finger-pointing emerged in Washington and beyond over whether harsh political rhetoric played a role in motivating the attack, Mr Obama sought to calm the rhetoric and said: "The forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us."
Mr Obama's appeal for unity played out against a deepening political debate. Earlier, Republican Sarah Palin, criticised for marking Ms Giffords' district and others with the cross-hairs of a gun sight during last autumn's campaign, had taken to Facebook to accuse pundits and journalists of using the attack to incite hatred and violence.
Memories of the six people killed dominated much of Mr Obama's speech. The president, for example, recalled how federal Judge John Roll was on his way from attending Mass when he stopped to say hello to Ms Giffords and was gunned down; Dorothy Morris, shielded by her husband, but killed nonetheless; and Phyllis Schneck, a Republican who liked Ms Giffords, a Democrat, and wanted to know her better.
He spoke at length of nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green, the only girl on her baseball team, who often said she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues. She had just been elected to the student council at her elementary school and had an emerging interest in public service.
Supermarket giant Tesco has said severe winter weather hindered its Christmas trading performance as it posted modest 0.6% like-for-like sales growth.
The UK's biggest supermarket said the heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures particularly hit its non-food offering as customers were unable to travel to its larger stores.
Sir Terry Leahy, chief executive, said: "Our performance remains solid but was hindered in the run up to the important Christmas trading period in the UK by the disruptive effects of the severe winter weather conditions."
Tesco's update for the six weeks to January 8 follows a stronger set of results from rival Sainsbury's, which delivered 3.6% like-for-like sales growth over a longer trading period for the 14 weeks to January 8. Fourth biggest supermarket chain Morrisons turned in a stronger performance in the six weeks to January 2, with like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT up 1%.
Tesco maintained its market share in the 12 weeks ending December 26 at 30.5%, according to researcher Kantar Worldpanel. But according to reports, figures, which are not publicly disclosed by Kantar, for the four weeks to December 26, revealed Sainsbury's overtook Asda to become the second-biggest supermarket in the UK.
Food sales at Tesco grew 1.7% on a like-for-like basis over the festive period, whereas non-food sales, which include electrical goods, entertainment and clothing, declined 1.5%.
Laurie McIlwee, Tesco's group finance director, said the group estimates the snow reduced sales by 1% but did not give a cash figure. He added: "Most of the impact was in non-food sales - which were negative - and that's because customers could not get to the big out-of-town stores."
Within food, he said customers were "trading up" and buying the company's Finest range, with ham on the bone sales up 50%, Finest party foods up 90% and Finest wines up 100%.
Tesco's total group sales increased by 7.6% but this was driven by growth overseas. In Asia, sales grew by 24.2%, with strong performances in Thailand and China, in Europe sales grew 5.6%, while in the US, the Fresh & Easy chain saw sales grow by 36.9%.
Tesco Direct, the company's website, saw sales increase by 18% with a strong performance in toys, gaming and small domestic appliances.
Flyers encouraging people not to hand over information to police have been posted on an estate where a teenager was shot dead.
The leaflets advertise a website - Stop Snitching - which urges potential informants to refuse to co-operate with the authorities.
It also urged people not to trust Trident, which investigates gun crime in London and has particular expertise in black gunmen and victims.
The leaflets have been left around the Pelican Estate, in Peckham, south east London, where 17-year-old Sylvester Akapalara was shot dead last month.
Investigators offered potential witnesses protection and anonymity if they came forward in the hours after the attack.
Sylvester died after being chased into a stairwell in Heron House. Three teenagers have since been charged with murder.
The leaflets highlight the difficulties police often face in winning the trust of potential witnesses of violent crimes linked to gangs. Their message echoes a notorious 2004 campaign called Stop Snitchin' launched in Baltimore, United States.
Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Cundy, who leads the Trident unit, said: "Trident receives an incredible amount of vital community support across London. Engaging with us is not snitching, but about protecting your community.
"Information from communities is vital to solving murder investigations and we will continue to successfully protect our vulnerable witnesses.
"Anyone with information that could be relevant to police can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
A man is being questioned by police after breaking into a shop in London's Regent Street and threatening to blow himself up.
The 46-year-old was detained following a four-hour stand-off with armed officers at a branch of Accessorize that brought a large part of the capital's centre to a standstill in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Teams of police were scrambled to the shop at 12.20am, after an alarm was activated, and found the man barricaded inside, claiming to be armed with explosives. They cleared the area while they made contact with him.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "At 5.15am, following negotiation, a man left the building voluntarily and was detained.
"The 46-year-old is currently in custody at a central London police station."
They said a small police cordon is in place but New West End Company, which represents Regent Street, Bond Street and Oxford Street, said workers and shoppers had "full access" to the street.
Chief executive Richard Dickinson said: "It is now business as usual on Regent Street, with retailers and businesses applauding the excellent handling of the situation by the police."
Police inquiries into the incident at the shop, which sells jewellery and other accessories, are ongoing.
Police hunting those responsible for violence and criminal damage during student protests have released images of a man throwing a petrol bomb.
The hooded figure can be seen running across Parliament Square and throwing a flaming bottle across a crowd of protesters.
The video was recorded by a member of public during one of the most violent days of demonstrations on December 9.
Investigators have also obtained images of a second suspect attacking cars in a royal convoy in Regent Street on the same day.
He was also caught on camera kicking in the windows of a branch of Topshop in Oxford Circus and throwing a metal fence at police officers.
A further 10 still images have been released of people suspected of violence and other offences on November 24.
Senior officers at the Met have formed a specialist unit, dubbed Operation Malone, to bring those who broke the law to justice.
They have arrested more than 200 suspects, the majority in their late teens and early twenties, since the first protest on November 10.
Three prisons will be closed with the loss of almost 850 places, Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke has said.
Ashwell prison in Rutland and Lancaster Castle, Lancashire, will be closed by March.
A third jail, Morton Hall women's prison in Lincolnshire, will be turned into an immigration detention centre "as soon as possible", the Ministry of Justice said.
Mr Clarke told MPs: "The decision to close any prison is a difficult one but one that we have had to make. Closing outdated and expensive prisons is an important step in our strategy to provide a secure and modern, fit-for-purpose prison estate, while improving efficiency and value for the taxpayer.
"The changes will reduce our current capacity by 849 places and I am confident that they can be safely managed within existing headroom, whilst maintaining our ability to cope with any increase in population."
There were 82,991 prisoners last Friday, about 5,000 less than the usable operational capacity of 87,936, MoJ figures showed.
Last month, Mr Clarke set out plans to reduce the prison population in England and Wales by about 3,000 over four years.
Mr Clarke's plans would see judges given more discretion over how long killers spend behind bars, more offenders handed fines or community sentences and foreign nationals allowed to avoid jail as long as they leave the UK forever. He said it was a "simpler, more sensible" approach but Tory backbenchers voiced concern that criminals would avoid being sent to prison.
He said: "Security remains our highest priority and we will ensure that this, along with efficiency and current performance levels, is maintained across the estate. Decisions on the future size of the prison estate will be driven by population demand and prisons will only close when capacity allows."
Prisoners will be moved to other jails and staff will be offered a "voluntary exit" scheme or moved to neighbouring establishments, Mr Clarke said.
Two men accused of helping gunman Raoul Moat have denied attempting to murder Pc David Rathband, who was shot and blinded by the former bouncer.
Flanked by two security guards, Karl Ness, 26, and Qhuram Awan, 23, entered not guilty pleas to a series of charges at Newcastle Crown Court.
Ness denied a charge of murdering Chris Brown, who was the only person killed by Moat, attempting to murder Pc Rathband, two charges of conspiracy to murder, one charge of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and one of robbing a fish shop.
Awan denied the attempted murder of Pc Rathband, one charge of conspiracy to murder, one charge of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and one of robbing a fish shop.
The men spoke only to enter their pleas during the brief hearing before Mr Justice McCombe.
As each charge was put, Ness, of Brookside, Dudley, North Tyneside, answered: "Not guilty."
Awan, of Rowley Street, Blyth, North Tyneside, answered: "Not guilty, my lord."
The pair, whom police initially feared were being held hostage by Moat, are alleged to have been with Moat when he shot Mr Brown dead and wounded Samantha Stobbart at her home in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street.
Moat, 37, died after a six-hour stand-off on the banks of the River Coquet, in Rothbury, Northumberland, in July.
Awan and Ness are both being held on remand. They face trial later this month.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said he hopes Britain and France can open up a new front in the fight against violent extremism by working together to prevent the radicalisation of young Muslims.
After talks with French prime minister Francois Fillon, Mr Cameron said: "I am becoming increasingly convinced it is not enough just to target violent extremism - we have to target extremism itself.
"We have to drain the water from the swamp in which the violent extremism grows. I am sure that Britain and France can work together on this and learn from each other."
The Prime Minister also promised that Britain will not be drawn into "new mechanisms or new procedures" in a bid to save the euro.
Mr Fillon is urging the UK to back further European integration, and Mr Cameron said he wanted the eurozone to tackle its problems.
But he stressed there was no prospect under his premiership of Britain ceding more powers or becoming part of eurozone mechanisms.
"A strong and successful eurozone is in Britain's interests, we want the countries of the eurozone to sort out the difficulties they have and we won't stand in the way as we do that. Indeed, we will be a helpful partner in making sure that happens," Mr Cameron declared.
"But let me again be clear - that does not mean that Britain should be drawn into new mechanisms or new procedures or have to give up new powers.
"That is absolutely not what we see as necessary as happening and throughout the European Councils last year we made that point and secured that point on many, many occasions."
Mr Fillon had used an interview with The Times to indicate that he would be using Thursday's meeting to urge the Prime Minister to support further harmonisation of EU economic and fiscal policy.
The Bank of England has left interest rates at their record low despite fears over surging inflation and commodity prices.
Policymakers kept the base rate at 0.5% for the 22nd month in a row even though consumer price index (CPI) inflation hit 3.3% in November, driven by the rising cost of food, clothes and oil.
The Bank also maintained money-boosting efforts under the quantitative easing programme at £200 billion.
The Bank's policy setters, who are tasked with keeping CPI at 2%, have admitted that inflation could rise to 4% in the spring but said the rise would be temporary and fall back next year.
The feeble nature of the economic recovery means the Bank would rather brave above-target inflation than risk tipping the economy into a "double-dip recession". Putting up interest rates might help reduce inflation but it would also restrict the spending power of homeowners with tracker mortgages and people repaying other debts, which would further endanger the recovery.
Consumers' spending power is being squeezed because pay packets are not keeping up with inflation. There has been a barrage of bad news for cash-strapped consumers in recent weeks as petrol, gas and clothes all rose in price, and last week's VAT rise from 17.5% to 20% pushed up the cost of most goods and services.
Monetary policy committee (MPC) member Andrew Sentance has repeatedly called for gradual interest rate rises to stave off the rising threat of inflation. But the consensus of the committee is that most of the inflationary pressures should fall away in a year's time.
And there are concerns over the strength of the recovery, which weakened in December, hindered by the Arctic weather.
Markit/CIPS data showed that the construction sector fell further into decline in the month, while the powerhouse services sector contracted marginally for the first time in 20 months, leaving only the manufacturing sector in growth.
GDP figures for the second and third quarters were also revised down from 1.2% to 1.1% and from 0.8% to 0.7% respectively, adding to fears over the strength of the recovery.
A total of 112 people with flu have died in the UK since September, the Government has announced.
The figure is up on the 50 cases reported last week and includes six children under five, nine aged five to 14 and 70 aged 15 to 64. Of 81 cases where information was available, 63 were in risk groups for flu.
The number of people in critical care in England has fallen from 783 last week to 661 and the latest figures come a day after the mother of a three-year-old victim urged the Government to further review its vaccination policy.
Gemma Ameen and her husband, Zana, switched off life support to their daughter, Lana, just two days after she apparently caught a cold on Christmas Eve.
The couple, a nurse and a doctor, initially took their daughter to hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester, where she was diagnosed with an infection and sent home. Later the same day she was taken back to Stepping Hill Hospital after she suffered multiple fits.
Mr and Mrs Ameen, from Quinton, Birmingham, claimed she then had to be revived three times over a three-hour period as they said a junior doctor refused to call a specialist consultant. Lana was eventually transferred to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool but died on Boxing Day.
Mrs Ameen issued a photograph of her daughter in intensive care in a bid to reverse Government policy on who is eligible for the seasonal flu vaccine which combats the H1N1 virus.
The Department of Health insisted independent expert advice was "absolutely clear" that children who do not have risk factors should not be vaccinated. The advice had been reviewed recently and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) did not change its recommendation, it added.
But Mrs Ameen, 28, responded: "It's heartless really. It definitely needs looking at again with another review. Rather than just taking facts and figures, they need to start thinking about people's lives."
Pharmacy giant Boots has also revealed its stores have "very limited" stocks of the winter flu jab and said there was currently no hope of replenishing its supplies.
