![Image]( "Hague calls for reforms in Egypt")
Foreign Secretary William Hague has urged Egypt to move towards political reform to quell growing anger that has led to street protests and violent clashes between demonstrators and police.
Thousands of Egyptians have vented their rage against President Hosni Mubarak's autocratic government over two days of protests that defied a ban on public gatherings.
Egypt's largest anti-government protests in years echo the recent uprising in Tunisia, and baton-wielding police responded with tear gas and beatings in a crackdown that has shown no tolerance for dissent.
Mr Hague said it was not for other countries to dictate who should be in power, or what their tactics should be, but told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Clearly, in so many of these countries people do have legitimate grievances, which are economic and political.
"While every country is different, and we shouldn't try to dictate what they should do, in general I do think it's important in this situation to respond positively to legitimate demands for reform, to move towards openness, transparency and greater political freedom. That would be my advice to Egyptian leaders."
The Egyptian government is reported to have shut down social networking sites in a bid to stop the unrest spreading, and Mr Hague said: "I would urge the Egyptian government, and I have urged the Egyptian government, to respect rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. It would be futile over time to try to suppress such things."
One protester and a policeman were killed on Wednesday when a car ran them over during a protest in a poor neighbourhood in central Cairo, bringing the death toll to six, and some 860 people have been detained as baton-wielding police responded with tear gas and beatings in a crackdown that has shown no tolerance for dissent.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Egypt to adopt broad reforms and not crack down on the anti-government crowds, urging the Mubarak regime to "take this opportunity to implement political, economic and social reforms that will answer the legitimate interests of the Egyptian people."
There is no indication that Mr Mubarak, who has ruled with an iron fist for nearly 30 years, intends to relinquish power or make democratic or economic concessions, and no sign he would rein in his security forces.
Although Wednesday's demonstrations were smaller than the tens of thousands who rallied on Tuesday, the unrest follows repeated public outcries in recent months over police brutality, food prices, corruption and, more recently, sectarian strife between Christians and Muslims.
Sky Sports football presenter Richard Keys has resigned from his position with the broadcaster, Sky News has reported.
Earlier, his former colleague Andy Gray apologised for his role in the football sexism row and said he was "devastated by losing the job that I love".
Keys claimed in an interview that "dark forces" were at work behind the scenes and hinted he could be sacked over the furore.
Cash-strapped British taxpayers fork out an extra £765 for goods and services every year because of fraudsters, according to new figures.
The National Fraud Authority (NFA) said cheats carve an annual £38 billion hole in Britain's finances.
The watchdog's second annual fraud indicator found crooks swindled the public sector out of £21 billion, more than half of total losses.
Meanwhile the private sector lost £12 billion, individuals £4 billion and charities £1.3 billion to frauds from marketing scams to bogus operators.
Officials said if the cost of fraud was broken down individually it would leave every adult with a bill for £765 in increased prices.
The second Annual Fraud Indicator showed the total cost of fraud has increased by more than £8 billion from £30 billion last year.
But researchers said the two surveys were not directly comparable because the latest figures include some areas of fraud for the first time.
They added that the size of public sector fraud reflects better reporting procedures and remains a relatively small proportion of total spending.
Bernard Herdan of the NFA said the research was a "blueprint" for work to tackle the "rising tide" of fraud.
He added that everyone can play their part in protecting themselves from fraud and sharing information on suspicious behaviour with the authorities.
The Government is set to unveil plans for a sell-off of England's publicly-owned forests.
News of the proposals have already caused widespread consternation, with fears rife that woodlands will come under threat from developers or be cut down for timber and that the public will lose access to forests.
Famous names ranging from Annie Lennox and Dame Judi Dench to the Archbishop of Canterbury have implored the Government not to sell off publicly-owned forests, warning it would be "misjudged and short-sighted".
The Ramblers has raised concerns about public access to woodlands that are sold, while the National Trust warned that unless sales safeguarded access and cultural and conservation value, important sites should stay in public care.
Labour has called for a parliamentary debate on the plans, labelling them "environmental vandalism".
Ministers have already announced plans to sell off 15% of the forest estate, in a bid to reap around £100 million from the disposal of the public asset, and legislation currently going through Parliament will allow them to sell more.
But the announcement is expected to say that historic woodland such as the New Forest and Forest of Dean will not be sold to private developers, and instead could end up in the hands of charitable trusts.
When news of the proposed sale first broke, the Government was forced to defend the plans against suggestions it would open up some of England's best-loved forests to golf courses and new holiday parks.
Despite the assurances, the Woodland Trust has warned the Government it must improve protection of all of England's woodlands as current rules are failing to stop them being destroyed. The Trust said that - regardless of who owns woods - the existing mechanisms for protecting them do not work and while no politician will give the go-ahead to development in well-known historic forests, plenty of other ancient woodland is under threat.
The Trust also wants to see 20,000 hectares of damaged ancient woodland that is managed by the Forestry Commission and is currently planted with conifers restored to its former glory.
Ministers will set out the next steps in their plans for a major overhaul of the English schools system.
The Government is due to publish a new Education Bill which will focus on boosting standards and improving behaviour.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said the coalition Government was taking action to "restore discipline and reduce bureaucracy".
Under the measures, teachers will be granted powers to search pupils for anything that could disrupt the classroom, including pornography and video cameras, and it will be made easier for schools to expel unruly pupils by allowing them to remain anonymous until they are charged with an offence.
The Bill is also expected to say that teachers will be protected from false allegations made by pupils by allowing them to remain anonymous until charged, and rules which mean schools must give parents 24 hours notice of a detention will be scrapped.
The plans were first outlined in a White Paper published in November.
The Bill is also expected to include proposals to axe a number of education quangos, such as the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) and the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA), and to remove bureaucratic "form filling" such as the "school profile" that schools must fill in about themselves.
Mr Gove said: "This Government backs teachers. All the evidence from those countries with great education systems tells us that nothing is more important than attracting great people into teaching. And supporting them in the classroom.
"Under the last Government, thousands of great people left the teaching profession because behaviour was out of control and they were forced to spend far too much time on paperwork. That's why we're taking action to restore discipline and reduce bureaucracy. Teachers will be free to impose the penalties they need to keep order. And free from the red tape which swallows up teaching time. So they can get on with their first duty - raising standards."
The Bill will also contain the legislation required to allow Government to charge university students a higher rate of interest on their tuition fee loans from next year.
State school pupils risk losing out on top jobs and university places because of a lack of opportunities to study languages, it has been suggested.
Private schools were more likely to make the subject compulsory and enter the majority of their pupils for a GCSE than state schools, according to the latest Language Trends survey from CILT, the National Centre for Languages.
In many maintained secondaries, pupils spend just two years studying another language, it found.
The study shows that the proportion of schools where more than half of Year 11 pupils are studying a language dropped to 38% in 2010 from 43% the year before.
In comparison, some 94% of private schools had more than 50% of Year 11 pupils taking the subject.
And while languages were compulsory in 89% of independent schools, the same was true in just 20% of state schools.
CILT chief executive Kathryn Board said: "The coalition Government have talked about closing the gap. Even in terms of opportunities what's happening with languages is that gap is widening, not closing.
"In order to close that gap, from an educational point of view, many, many more children in state schools have to have the opportunity to learn a language, and understand the benefit of learning a language for social mobility, for employment as well as for leisure."
Professor Mike Kelly, programme director of Links into Languages, suggested that in future most universities will be looking for applicants with the Government's new English Baccalaureate, of which a language is a key part.
"At the moment universities are finding it very difficult to recruit language undergraduates from the maintained sector, as a result of which increasing proportions of students doing languages degrees are from independent schools," he said.
Scrapping the RAF's Nimrod surveillance aircraft will leave a "massive gap" in British security, former defence chiefs have warned.
The controversial decision to get rid of the £4 billion fleet was taken on cost grounds as part of the Government's strategic defence and security review last year.
With the process of breaking up the equipment set to begin, a number of service chiefs signed an open letter to The Daily Telegraph warning of the dangers of the move.
"Machine tools have been destroyed; several millions of pounds have been saved but a massive gap in British security has opened," the letter said.
"Vulnerability of sea lanes, unpredictable overseas crises and traditional surface and submarine opposition will continue to demand versatile responsive aircraft.
"Nimrod would have continued to provide long-range maritime and overland reconnaissance - including over the UK - anti-submarine surveillance, air-sea rescue coordination, and perhaps most importantly, reconnaissance support to the Navy's Trident submarines."
The letter was signed by Marshal of the RAF Lord Craig, the former Chief of the Defence Staff and Chief of Air Staff; Major General Julian Thompson, the commander of land forces in the Falklands conflict; Air Vice-Marshal Tony Mason, the former Air Secretary for the RAF; Major General Patrick Cordingley, the commander of the Desert Rats in the Gulf War; Air Commodore Andrew Lambert, the director of the UK National Defence Association; and Admiral Sir John "Sandy" Woodward.
The planes were seen on Wednesday on a site owned by BAE Systems at Woodford in Stockport, with their cockpit windows taped up, close to an area sectioned off by tarpaulin sheets, where it is believed they will be broken up.
Union leaders also attacked the Government's controversial decision to scrap the Nimrod spy planes as contractors prepared to strip the aircraft before they are dismantled for scrap metal. Unite national officer Bernie Hamilton said: "The lunatics have taken over the asylum when the Government orders the Ministry of Defence to break-up £4 billion worth of world-class defence equipment."
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Ministers and service chiefs have made clear that the decision in October's SDSR not to bring the Nimrod MRA4 into service was difficult, but it will not be reversed and the dismantling process is under way."
More than half of fixed speed cameras in England and Wales do not work at any one time, according to a consumer watchdog.
A study by Which? also found that the chances of getting caught speeding vary dramatically from county to county, with all 60 Sussex cameras in operation while just 10% of Lancashire's 287 sites are ready to snap motorists.
Less than 47% of all fixed cameras are operational at any one time, Which? said, with most areas having more yellow boxes than actual cameras and rotating the working part at random or in response to speed and accident statistics.
The watchdog asked all 43 police authorities in England and Wales how many fixed speed camera housings they had and how many were in operation, under the Freedom of Information Act.
Dorset, Hertfordshire, Merseyside, Norfolk and Suffolk refused to answer, but the available results showed counties had between 10% and 100% of their cameras in operation. Durham said it used a single mobile camera because there was no need for fixed cameras anywhere in the county, while Cleveland, North Yorkshire and Wiltshire also did not operate any fixed sites.
Elsewhere, Cumbria Police had just 12 fixed cameras - one of the lowest totals in the investigation - but all were operational. Staffordshire Police had 263 speed camera housings but just 11% were in operation, while Avon and Somerset had 54 sites of which 94% were operational.
A Which? survey of 1,920 members found 47% of people thought speed cameras made the roads safer and 45% did not, while 83% believed they slowed drivers down only at specific locations.
Which? editor Martyn Hocking said: "Speed cameras in some areas are always operational, whereas in others there could be a one in 10 chance the camera you've passed isn't working. It really is a tale of two counties."
Peter Rodger, chief examiner with the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "Cameras cost a lot of money to install and maintain and for that reason there have always been more boxes than cameras. A yellow camera box that has no camera is totally effective if it achieves casualty reduction with no prosecution.
"One that catches large numbers of people but doesn't reduce casualties is doing nothing useful. A yellow box has a huge psychological impression on drivers, whether or not it is live, and it is the effect of this that is important, rather than whether the camera is recording."
It was a night for the veterans at the National Television Awards with two seasoned stars carrying off the big prizes.
There was a Special Recognition award - and a standing ovation - for Bruce Forsyth.
Meanwhile, David Jason picked up the award for Most Outstanding Drama Performance - despite earlier predicting on the red carpet he would not win.
Stephen Fry, who presented the award to Forsyth, described the showman as "a legend". He added: "That is a word that is often overused but in this case never more deservedly."
The star, who began his career as Boy Bruce the Mighty Atom and has done stints on The Generation Game and Strictly Come Dancing, joked: "This being this kind of a night, this would be a good night to announce my retirement but I'm not going to."
Jason's role as world-weary copper Jack Frost saw off challenges from Doctor Who actor Matt Smith, Ashes to Ashes star Philip Glenister and Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch. Jason said: "This is a real turn up for the book. I just have to thank you all who voted for me."
EastEnders was crowned top soap and also picked up awards for Most Popular Newcomer for Ricky Norwood, who plays Fatboy, and Outstanding Serial Drama Performance for Lacey Turner's role as Stacey Slater.
Other winners included ITV1's Benidorm which carried off the award for Most Popular Comedy Programme and Waterloo Road which won Most Popular Drama. Zen star Rufus Sewell handed out the Digital Choice award to the cast of teen comedy The Inbetweeners.
Geordie duo Ant and Dec picked up the Most Popular Entertainment Presenter award - a category they have dominated having won it for 10 years in a row. And Ashes hero Alastair Cook showed off the cricket trophy to a cheering audience, and presented the award for topical magazine show to This Morning.
Top Gear won the prize for Most Popular Factual Programme and its co-host Jeremy Clarkson said: "There hasn't been a fact on Top Gear for seven years now, it's just three middle-aged men falling over."
Foreign Secretary William Hague has urged Egypt to move towards political reform to quell growing anger that has led to street protests and violent clashes between demonstrators and police.
Thousands of Egyptians have vented their rage against President Hosni Mubarak's autocratic government over two days of protests that defied a ban on public gatherings.
Egypt's largest anti-government protests in years echo the recent uprising in Tunisia, and baton-wielding police responded with tear gas and beatings in a crackdown that has shown no tolerance for dissent.
Mr Hague said it was not for other countries to dictate who should be in power, or what their tactics should be, but told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Clearly, in so many of these countries people do have legitimate grievances, which are economic and political.
"While every country is different, and we shouldn't try to dictate what they should do, in general I do think it's important in this situation to respond positively to legitimate demands for reform, to move towards openness, transparency and greater political freedom. That would be my advice to Egyptian leaders."
The Egyptian government is reported to have shut down social networking sites in a bid to stop the unrest spreading, and Mr Hague said: "I would urge the Egyptian government, and I have urged the Egyptian government, to respect rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. It would be futile over time to try to suppress such things."
One protester and a policeman were killed on Wednesday when a car ran them over during a protest in a poor neighbourhood in central Cairo, bringing the death toll to six, and some 860 people have been detained as baton-wielding police responded with tear gas and beatings in a crackdown that has shown no tolerance for dissent.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Egypt to adopt broad reforms and not crack down on the anti-government crowds, urging the Mubarak regime to "take this opportunity to implement political, economic and social reforms that will answer the legitimate interests of the Egyptian people."
There is no indication that Mr Mubarak, who has ruled with an iron fist for nearly 30 years, intends to relinquish power or make democratic or economic concessions, and no sign he would rein in his security forces.
Although Wednesday's demonstrations were smaller than the tens of thousands who rallied on Tuesday, the unrest follows repeated public outcries in recent months over police brutality, food prices, corruption and, more recently, sectarian strife between Christians and Muslims.
The Australian government has proposed a tax to partially recoup the more than five billion Australian dollars (£3.1 billion) it expects to spend on rebuilding after major flooding.
Prime minister Julia Gillard announced the temporary tax would apply to Australians on above-average incomes from July and raise 1.8 billion dollars to pay for the massive destruction from weeks of flooding along the east coast that is continuing further south.
But the new tax will need the support of independent politicians to become law when legislation is introduced to parliament next month.
The main opposition party opposes it.
Initial estimates of the damage bill and cost of emergency grants to flood-affected communities for the federal government is 5.6 billion Australian dollars (£3.5 billion).
Britain's break from the chilly conditions appears to be over amid forecasts of cold temperatures and snow flurries.
The return of cold wind and snow is expected to be concentrated in the South East on Thursday, forecasters said.
But there will not be a repeat of the sub-zero conditions seen in December when the deep freeze caused travel disruption for millions of rail, road and air travellers.
Temperatures are forecast at between 1C (34F) and 4C (39F) for England and Wales, slightly below average for January, according to MeteoGroup, the Press Association's weather division.
Forecaster Gareth Harvey said: "There might be just a few snow flakes or grains but we are not expecting any accumulations.
"It could be seen anywhere across the country but it is due to be concentrated in the South East during the course of the day.
"We are not expecting any settling and most places are due to stay dry. We have got quite a lot of low cloud across parts of England and Wales."
Last month was one of the coldest months recorded in the UK, the Met Office said.
While globally 2010 was one of the warmest years on record, provisional figures show that in the UK it was the 12th coldest year in records dating back to 1910, with temperatures averaging just 8C over the year.
The average temperature for December was minus 1C, significantly colder than the long-term average of 4.2C and lower than the previous coldest December in 1981, when temperatures averaged 0.1C over the month.
House prices have fallen for the seventh month in a row after both buyers and sellers stayed away from the market.
The average cost of a home in England and Wales dropped by 0.5% this month to stand at £153,600 - 2.2% less than in January 2010, according to housing intelligence firm Hometrack.
Potential buyers continued to sit on their hands in the face of house price falls, and uncertainty over the economy and future interest rate rises.
Estate agents reported a further 9.5% fall in the number of people registering with them, the seventh consecutive monthly decline, contributing to a 26% fall in demand during the past six months.
But there were also further signs that homeowners are becoming increasingly reluctant to put their properties on the market, with the supply of new homes for sale falling by 5.4% during the month - the biggest drop for four years.
Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said: "There are no signs of a New Year bounce for the housing market as 2011 begins with a sluggish start.
"The supply of new homes coming to the market continues to fall but it is the change in demand that we need to pay most attention to, as this will have the greatest impact on pricing levels in the first half of 2011.
"Concerns over the economic outlook and the biting reality of spending cuts are doing little to improve a fragile market defined by weak consumer sentiment and a lack of demand for housing."
The group expects the number of sellers to continue to fall during the coming quarter, as people are forced either to reduce their price or withdraw their home from the market.
It said in the short term this would not be enough to offset the downward pressure on prices, but over the course of the year it would begin to act as a support and limit falls in values.
Scotland Yard is facing mounting criticism of its handling of allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World.
Metropolitan Police detectives have launched a fresh inquiry into the controversy after receiving "significant new information" from the newspaper.
But former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott called for a judicial review into the Met's handling of the case so far.
"I just don't trust the Metropolitan Police to conduct a proper inquiry," he said. "I can't trust them to carry out a proper inquiry and that's why I asked the courts for a judicial review on the Metropolitan Police and the way they've conducted investigations."
Alastair Campbell, who was Tony Blair's director of communications in Downing Street, also criticised the police.
Speaking on BBC Two's Newsnight, he said: "Why was none of this done before, either by the newspaper group or by the police? Both of them I think still have a lot of things to answer. I'm very pro-police. I don't like sitting here attacking the police, but their investigation so far has been absolutely woeful, and it's absolutely right another set of officers comes in and looks at this."
Scotland Yard announced on Wednesday that detectives had received a dossier of evidence about suspicious activities at the News of the World in 2005 and 2006, and that a new team would carry out the inquiry.
The decision was made after the newspaper handed over material gathered during an internal investigation into its assistant editor (news) Ian Edmondson. The newspaper, whose owner Rupert Murdoch was in London this week, said Mr Edmondson was sacked as a result of the investigation.
Mr Edmondson was suspended from duty in December after he was linked to the scandal in documents relating to legal action by actress Sienna Miller lodged at the High Court.
The new inquiry is one of the most significant developments in the controversy since the News of the World's royal editor was imprisoned in 2007. Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed at the Old Bailey after they admitted intercepting messages.
Ofsted will no longer check up on the contents of students' lunchboxes under measures contained in the Education Bill to slim down the watchdog.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said the schools inspectorate should concentrate on key areas like achievement and behaviour, rather than "peripheral" issues.
The new Bill focuses on boosting standards and improving behaviour in schools.
If passed, it will grant the Secretary of State powers to order a local council to close schools that are judged to be in special measures, require significant improvement or have failed to comply with a warning notice. And academy sponsors will be stripped of their involvement in a school if that school under-performs.
Changes to Ofsted will mean schools will be judged by the watchdog on four key areas - quality of teaching, leadership, pupils' behaviour and achievement.
Publishing the Bill on Thursday, Mr Gove said: "There are areas of Ofsted inspections, such as community cohesion or regulations governing what students bring in in their lunchboxes at lunchtime, which are entirely peripheral.
"One of the problems with Ofsted inspections is that they are asked to inspect and measure for things which, by definition, are hard to judge and not central to what schools are about."
The Bill hands more control to the Education Secretary to intervene in failing schools. Mr Gove insisted that under-achieving academies will not be exempt from this.
"There is absolutely no reluctance on our part to deal with any academy that's failing," he said. "Every school that under-performs will be held up to high standards.
"If sponsors are not doing the appropriate job then we will demand change. If necessary we will take the school out of that sponsor's hands and into someone's who can turn it around."
Plans for a £250 million sell-off of England's public forests have been announced, but the Government insisted it would allow communities continued access and greater involvement in their woodlands.
Under proposals put out for consultation, commercially valuable forests would be leased under 150-year leases, allowing the Government to impose conditions on timber companies to protect public access and maintain management standards.
It is expected the leasehold sales of up to half the public estate could raise between £140 and £250 million.
The proposals for the future of the 18% of England's woodlands currently in public ownership also include plans to give communities, civil society and even local authorities the right to buy or lease forests.
And heritage woodlands, such as the Forest of Dean and the New Forest, would be transferred into the ownership of a new charity or existing charities, which would receive funding from the Government, to be managed in the interests of the nation.
News of the plans to dispose of up to 100% of the publicly owned forest in England had caused widespread consternation, with fears rife that well-loved woodlands would come under threat from developers or be cut down for timber and that the public will lose access to forests.
But Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said she hoped the publication of the details of the public consultation would prove many people's fears unfounded.
"State control of forests dates back to the First World War, when needs were very different," she said.
"There's no reason for the Government to be in the business of timber production and forest management.
"It's time for the Government to step back and allow those who are most involved with England's woodlands to play a much greater role in their future."
The number of police officers in England and Wales fell by more than 2,500 last year, the first significant fall for at least six years, figures show.
There were 142,363 officers on September 30, a drop of 1.7% compared with the previous year, Home Office figures show.
The fall in numbers comes amid fears of further job losses over the next four years as the police grants are cut by 20% under the Government's spending review.
Veteran stars triumphed at the National Television Awards as seasoned professionals Bruce Forsyth and Sir David Jason carried off big prizes.
While TV favourites Ant and Dec pulled off the remarkable feat of triumphing as top entertainment presenters for the 10th year in a row.
Sir David's win for outstanding drama performance deprived Doctor Who star Matt Smith of the title. The actor who plays the Time Lord has won the title every year since the show was revived by the BBC with Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant winning the award in recent years.
And the BBC1 show has landed the popular drama prize each year since 2005, until it was beaten this year by Waterloo Road.
Forsyth was honoured with a Special Recognition award - and a standing ovation. Stephen Fry, who presented the award, described the showman as "a legend".
And Strictly host Forsyth teased the audience by pretending he was about to quit his role as the show's presenter, following reports that Vernon Kaye was keen to join his wife Tess Daly in fronting the show.
The star, who began his career as Boy Bruce the Mighty Atom and has done stints on The Generation Game, joked: "This being this kind of a night, this would be a good night to announce my retirement ... but I'm not bloody going to."
Sir David won the top actor prize for the first time since 2004 for his role as world-weary copper Jack Frost in A Touch Of Frost, which finally came to an end last year.
Jason, best known for his role as loveable wideboy Del Trotter, said: "This is a real turn up for the book. I just have to thank you all who voted for me."
EastEnders was crowned top soap and also picked up awards for Most Popular Newcomer for Ricky Norwood, who plays Fatboy, and Outstanding Serial Drama Performance for Lacey Turner's role as Stacey Slater.
An unlawful use of force contributed to the decision by the youngest person to die in custody in recent times to take his own life, an inquest jury has concluded.
Adam Rickwood, of Burnley, Lancashire, was just 14 when he was found hanging at Hassockfield Secure Training Centre, near Medomsley, County Durham, in 2004.
The teenager was an "extremely troubled and vulnerable young man" with a history of cannabis abuse when he was sent 150 miles from his home town on remand after he was charged with wounding another youth, the inquest in Easington, County Durham, was told.
On the day he died, Adam had rowed with a female member of staff in the association area and was lifted by four care officers and placed face-down in his room.
On the way, care officer Steve Hodgson used the controversial nose distraction technique - a sharp painful blow - to stop the boy trying to bite him, the inquest heard.
Adam's nose bled afterwards and he was left alone in his room to calm down.
The teenager spoke to members of staff and he did not seem too despondent afterwards, but six hours later he was found dead in his room.
The jury concluded there had been a serious system failure at the centre which led to an unlawful regime, and the panel also criticised training.
Summing up, assistant deputy coroner Jeremy Freedman said the jury should consider whether the restraint technique and the blow to his nose might have led to Adam's death, and directed the panel to consider 16 questions relating to Adam's death.
They focused on the events in the run-up to Adam's death, staff training, the involvement of the Youth Justice Board, the Hassockfield regime and the factors that might have contributed "more than minimally" to his death.
