The mother of a 10-year-old girl mauled by two rottweilers has praised the child's grandmother for helping to save her.
Rhianna Kidd was attacked by the dogs while riding her bicycle in Dundee on Sunday. The primary school pupil is being treated for a fractured jaw and has had to have plastic surgery.
A 33-year-old woman was charged in connection with the attack under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Speaking from her daughter's hospital bedside, Rhianna's mother Lisa, 30, told the Daily Record: "If it hadn't been for mum, those dogs would have ripped Rhianna to pieces. She didn't hesitate when she saw the dogs attacking Rhianna.
"Mum recently broke her ankle and ribs in a fall and is still in pain, but she managed to get to my daughter in time."
The two dogs involved in the attack, which were traced by police, were put down on Monday evening.
Irene Grady, the girl's grandmother, saw the dogs set upon the youngster as she pedalled towards her home in Dryburgh Street. She had been dropped off by her father moments earlier.
Mrs Grady, 56, described the dogs as "killing machines".
She said: "It happened that quickly, in minutes. Rhianna was screaming, she was covered in blood, absolutely covered. She looked in a bad way to me. She's so thin. What chance would Rhianna have? She's not big for her age. She's 10 but she looks about eight. It was like a horror movie."
A Tayside Police spokesman said: "The woman has been charged under section three of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for failing to keep the dogs under control and a full report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal."
The mother of a 10-year-old girl mauled by two rottweilers has praised the child's grandmother for helping to save her.
Rhianna Kidd was attacked by the dogs while riding her bicycle in Dundee on Sunday. The primary school pupil is being treated for a fractured jaw and has had to have plastic surgery.
A 33-year-old woman was charged in connection with the attack under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Speaking from her daughter's hospital bedside, Rhianna's mother Lisa, 30, told the Daily Record: "If it hadn't been for mum, those dogs would have ripped Rhianna to pieces. She didn't hesitate when she saw the dogs attacking Rhianna.
"Mum recently broke her ankle and ribs in a fall and is still in pain, but she managed to get to my daughter in time."
The two dogs involved in the attack, which were traced by police, were put down on Monday evening.
Irene Grady, the girl's grandmother, saw the dogs set upon the youngster as she pedalled towards her home in Dryburgh Street. She had been dropped off by her father moments earlier.
Mrs Grady, 56, described the dogs as "killing machines".
She said: "It happened that quickly, in minutes. Rhianna was screaming, she was covered in blood, absolutely covered. She looked in a bad way to me. She's so thin. What chance would Rhianna have? She's not big for her age. She's 10 but she looks about eight. It was like a horror movie."
A Tayside Police spokesman said: "The woman has been charged under section three of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for failing to keep the dogs under control and a full report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal."
Cricket authorities are hoping for "some sort of a conclusion" by the weekend to the crisis over match-fixing allegations involving Pakistani players.
The game's ruling body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), said cricketers found guilty faced swift and firm punishment, including being thrown out of the sport.
However chief executive Haroon Lorgat said "a couple of individuals that might have got caught up in corrupt practices" should not bring the entire game to a standstill.
His comments came as the furore continued over newspaper allegations suggesting members of the Pakistan team were part of a match-fixing ring. Supported by video evidence, the News of the World said two Pakistan fast bowlers agreed to bowl no balls - foul deliveries - at certain times during last week's Lord's Test.
Mr Lorgat said on Monday that the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) was investigating the allegations and helping police with their criminal inquiry.
He said: "Make no mistake - once the process is complete, if any players are found to be guilty, the ICC will ensure that the appropriate punishment is handed out. We will not tolerate corruption in this great game."
His statement followed talks with high-ranking officials from the England and Pakistan camps amid calls for Pakistan to be suspended from the game and the players concerned banned for life if the claims are proven.
Mr Lorgat told BBC Radio Five Live that the ICC realised that the Twenty20 game between Pakistan and England is on Sunday.
"We're busy with the Metropolitan Police and hopefully before the weekend arrives we can get to some sort of a conclusion. But it's an individual's right that you're innocent until proven guilty."
He added: "At the moment, it is also appropriate that the game continues. We shouldn't let everyone suffer because of a couple of individuals that might have got caught up in corrupt practices. The vast majority of players are not guilty of any such behaviour. They play the sport in the right spirit, and there are many fans who want to watch the game. We shouldn't let a couple of individuals, a few players, bring the entire game to a standstill."
Labour leadership contender Ed Balls has called for an extra £6 billion to be invested to build an additional 100,000 affordable homes in a major new programme of house-building.
Mr Balls will be joined by wife Yvette Cooper - the shadow work and pensions secretary - for the first time on the campaign trail on Tuesday when they visit a new housing development in central London to highlight his plan.
He argues that the Government should fund a rapid expansion of house-building from a £12 billion "windfall" available because state borrowing for 2009-10 came in at £155 billion - lower than Alistair Darling's forecast of £167 billion in the March Budget.
The shadow education secretary believes his plan could create up to 750,000 jobs in the private sector, boosting economic growth as the UK and global economic recovery remain fragile, and tackling the urgent shortage of decent affordable housing.
He admitted that Labour's pre-election plans to build 176,000 social homes over four years were "too cautious" and acknowledged that the party was "late in recognising the importance of building more homes and more affordable homes" while in office.
A massive boost in house-building would "exemplify the economic alternative we need right now, and expose the myth that cuts can somehow produce jobs and growth".
"The truth is that whilst we made progress, Labour leaders over several decades never paid enough sustained attention to housing to make it the priority it deserved. That must change," Mr Balls said.
"We now need a strong housing policy to support our economy, to provide the homes Britain badly needs and to reconnect with the voters we lost, both young families who want a home of their own and those queuing patiently for social housing."
Mr Balls will also call for a temporary 5% VAT rate for the repair, maintenance and improvement of housing from January - when the Government plans to hike the tax to 20% - to encourage households to invest in the value of their homes. In the short term this could be paid for by part of the remaining £6 billion "windfall", but international evidence suggests that the move could actually increase the tax take, he said.
Mr Balls will unveil the policy at an event held at the National Housing Federation in central London alongside Ms Cooper, shadow housing minister John Healey and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone.
Britain and France could share their aircraft carrier capability in a dramatic co-operation pact designed to maintain military power while cutting costs, it has been reported.
The Ministry of Defence described the report in The Times as "speculation" ahead of the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, expected next month.
But a source said that ideas for all sorts of co-operation would be "on the table" when Defence Secretary Liam Fox visited Paris for talks with his French counterparts on Friday, and did not exclude the possibility of the aircraft carriers being discussed.
The Times suggested that the proposal could be officially unveiled by Prime Minister David Cameron and French president Nicolas Sarkozy at a summit in November.
Under the arrangement, British and French flagships would work together to defend the interests of both countries, said the paper. The plan would ensure that one of three ships - one French and two British - was always on duty at sea. And special protocols would be drawn up to make clear what should happen if a uniquely British interest such as the Falkland Islands comes under threat when the French are in charge.
If confirmed, the move could make it easier for the UK to scrap or downgrade one of the two replacement carriers being constructed for the Royal Navy at a cost of £5.2 billion.
The Times quoted a Whitehall source as saying: "Liam has made it clear that we want more co-operation as we have to face up to the world we are living in.
"The advantage is that if we are going to have one carrier, then at least we can project our power on the sea even if we go down to a single carrier."
But the Ministry of Defence declined to discuss the report.
An MoD spokesman said: "The Defence Secretary has made clear that tough decisions will need to be made but the complex process of a Strategic Defence and Security Review will be concluded in the autumn. Speculation at this stage about its outcome is entirely unfounded."
Viewers want to see more drama and documentaries rather than reality and celebrity shows, research has shown.
The study also shows that viewers reckon Big Brother - soon to disappear forever from Channel 4 but which may be revived on Channel Five - is the show most people say they strive to avoid.
The figures - from a joint survey by SeeSaw.com and Radio Times - come as popular shows X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing prepare to go head to head for Saturday night ratings.
And Channel 4 is going all-out with Big Brother's last gasp as former stars flood the show for a fortnight.
The survey of 2,000 adults - to appear in today's Radio Times - finds nearly a third of viewers (31%) want more drama, while 30% would prefer to see more documentaries. Just 2% of those polled said they wanted more celebrity content, and 3% wanted further reality TV.
A total of 44% said Big Brother was the show they were most likely to avoid, with the X Factor landing 6% of the poll. Top Gear was named the nation's favourite show.
The study, which also looked at TV consumption and identified changes in the way people now view their programmes, found only 29% of students watched shows mainly on live TV, while 56% said they watched their shows online.
Just over a third of all those who took part (34%) said they now watched their favourite shows online.
John Keeling, platform controller of online TV service SeeSaw, said: "The nation's hunger for great television is insatiable.
"Viewing across the board is in robust health but scratch the surface and a quiet revolution is taking place. Whilst the nation continues to watch fantastic shows like Doctor Who and Top Gear, a whole new generation of TV fans are enjoying these shows online."
The Government is set to reap almost £30 billion from its holdings in British banks which it bailed out at the time of the financial crisis, according to an analysis.
The sum - enough to fund the UK's primary schools for a year - represents a dramatic turnaround from predictions at the height of the crisis that propping up the banks could cost taxpayers as much as £850 billion.
It will be achieved if equity prices rise in line with predicted economic growth over the next five years, delivering a profit of around £19 billion to the taxpayer by 2015, said The Banker magazine.
At least a further £8 billion will be due from fees for loans, bond guarantees and the asset protection scheme (APS) set up by the Treasury in 2009 to restore confidence in banks which had seemed in danger of failing.
Lloyds paid £2.5 billion in fees to join the APS, but did not ultimately participate, while losses at RBS are unlikely to be large enough for the bank to call upon the guarantee of taxpayer money, for which it has so far paid £1.4 billion.
UK taxpayers are currently breaking even on their 83% shareholding in Royal Bank of Scotland and 41% of Lloyds TSB, when dividends and other earnings are taken into account.
Receiving a profit from the holdings would be a welcome boost for a coalition Government fighting to fill the hole in the national finances left by the banking crisis, but would also be hailed by Labour as a vindication of the strategy adopted by former prime minister Gordon Brown and his chancellor Alistair Darling in dealing with the crisis.
The Banker's editor, Brian Caplen, said: "While the banks remain at fault for decisions that led to some of them needing a rescue package, the UK taxpayer could make a significant profit from bailing out the banks by 2015."
The chief executive of cricket's ruling body has promised "prompt and decisive action" against anyone found cheating after four Pakistan players were accused of match-fixing.
Haroon Lorgat, of the International Cricket Council (ICC), said he hoped that by the weekend "some sort of a conclusion" would be reached to the investigation into claims of corruption during the Test at Lord's.
The News of the World said two Pakistan fast bowlers agreed to bowl no balls - foul deliveries - at certain times during last week's Test after reporters posing as Far Eastern businessmen paid a middleman £150,000. The allegations are being investigated by Scotland Yard.
Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed, 35, is on police bail.
The ICC's anti-corruption and security unit is also investigating the claims, and Mr Lorgat said in a statement: "The integrity of the game is of paramount importance. Prompt and decisive action will be taken against those who seek to harm it."
He said the facts must be established, but added: "Make no mistake, once the process is complete, if any players are found to be guilty the ICC will ensure that the appropriate punishment is handed out. We will not tolerate corruption in this great game."
Pakistan are due to play England in a Twenty20 game on Sunday, and Mr Lorgat told BBC Radio Five Live that "hopefully before the weekend arrives we can get to some sort of a conclusion".
None of players at the centre of the claims have been suspended. Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed said Test captain Salman Butt, bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, and wicket keeper Kamran Akmal were questioned by officers at the team hotel in London on Saturday night.
England bowler Graeme Swann, who took 22 wickets during the series, said on Tuesday that he believed Pakistan gave "100%" during the Test series.
In a newspaper column, Swann wrote: "It is inevitable doubters will say Pakistan's batsmen got out on purpose but I am sure that is totally untrue. I've had to work hard for every wicket and, no matter what anyone might think or say, I feel proud of my achievements this summer."
The Government has launched an investigation into the disappearance of an injured Iraqi boy taken into care by the British Army seven years ago.
Memmon Salam al-Maliki, then 11, disappeared within days of being taken to a military base in 2003 after being wounded while playing with munitions in Basra.
According to The Guardian, British authorities told Memmon's father his son was transferred to a US military hospital in Kuwait after 10 days but have since been unable to give any more information about his whereabouts.
A Ministry of Defence area claims officer subsequently told Salam al-Maliki his son's location was unknown, the paper said, and that "all avenues within British military channels had been exhausted".
In 2005, the last MoD communication with the family, a senior claims officer had said Memmon was still missing but insisted there was no evidence of any negligence by British forces.
US military authorities have also been unable to say whether they took charge of the boy in Kuwait, the Guardian said.
Memmon was injured in April 2003 while playing near his Basra home. He suffered an eye injury, lost his left hand and several fingers from his right. He would now be 18.
Mr al-Maliki told the paper: "I am not the same man since he disappeared. I don't want to see people and I don't want to go out. His mother is still sad and crying, wondering if her son is dead or alive."
Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox said: "I would like to extend my sincerest sympathy to his family in what is clearly a deeply upsetting case.
"I have asked MoD officials to conduct a thorough search of all documentation to see whether they can shed any new light on this case as a matter of urgency."
The Gurkha regiment may be axed amid cuts to defence spending, according to a Conservative MP.
Former Army officer Patrick Mercer said everything is "up for grabs" at the Ministry of Defence, adding that the Gurkhas are now "not so cheap" since they won a high-profile campaign for better rights, and that there has been a rise in "home-grown" recruitment.
His remarks follow reports that the regiment, part of the British Army for nearly 200 years, could be one of several sacrificed as a result of a Government dispute about defence funding.
Mr Mercer told GMTV: "I think everything at the moment is up for grabs, particularly in terms of the balance between whether we cut kit or whether we cut manpower.
"The great benefit that the Gurkhas had in the past was twofold: the first is that they were cheap, much cheaper than the British equivalent, and secondly they were plentiful. Well, now they are not so cheap and now British recruiting has never been higher."
Meanwhile, Britain and France may soon be sharing their aircraft carrier capability in a dramatic co-operation pact designed to maintain military power while cutting costs, it has been reported.
But the MoD said the report, in The Times newspaper, was mere "speculation" before the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review due out next month.
However, one source said ideas for all sorts of co-operation will be "on the table" when Defence Secretary Liam Fox visits Paris for talks with his French counterparts on Friday, and did not exclude the possibility of sharing the aircraft carriers being discussed.
The Times said the proposal could be officially unveiled by Prime Minister David Cameron and French president Nicolas Sarkozy at a summit in November and quoted a Whitehall source as saying: "Liam has made it clear that we want more co-operation as we have to face up to the world we are living in.
"The advantage is that if we are going to have one carrier, then at least we can project our power on the sea even if we go down to a single carrier."
More than 80 British Airways cabin crew have been suspended and 13 sacked because of incidents related to their bitter dispute with the airline this year, it has been revealed.
Unite said the number of disciplinary cases taken against its members was "seriously complicating" attempts to break the deadlocked row, which started over cost savings but escalated following a series of strikes.
A union spokesman said: "The continuing rise in the number of unjustified suspensions and dismissals is seriously complicating any attempt to bring this dispute to an end."
BA said the vast majority of staff who had been suspended were now back at work, although at least 13 have been sacked for "serious cases of misconduct", subject to appeal.
"Most of the suspensions have related to allegations from other employees of bullying and intimidation.
"It would be a dereliction of our duty of care as an employer to ignore these. Investigations into any allegations are conducted under the company's disciplinary procedures, which have been in place for many years, are fair, open and transparent and are agreed with all our trade unions, including Unite," said a BA spokesman.
Talks between the union and BA managers are expected to be held next week, but Unite officials warned that a fresh ballot for strikes could be held if there is no progress soon. Unite claimed that BA last week rejected a compromise offer aimed at resolving the row over the removal of travel concessions for cabin crew who have been on strike.
Tony Woodley, joint leader of Unite, said in an email to members: "The union has made what we regard as helpful proposals for both parties to go to conciliation on the outstanding issues, and has made substantive proposals regarding the return of full travel concessions within a time-limited period and the involvement of Acas in disciplinary procedures.
"The company advised that all these proposals had been turned down. The possibility of balloting you once more on industrial action, after discussion with your representatives, remains an option very much on the table."
A Unite spokesman said that if BA continued to "delay" reaching a settlement, a strike ballot was "inevitable".
The police watchdog has said it was "not even close" to establishing the timeline of events surrounding the death of gunman Raoul Moat after a report suggested he was Tasered after he shot himself.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it was still analysing the evidence and could not confirm the report said the 37-year-old murderer shot himself then was hit by Tasers fired by armed police at the end of a six-hour stand-off last month.
The exact circumstances of how the gunman died have been the subject of intense speculation after the controversial use of Tasers when a national manhunt ended in Moat's death.
Family members have paid for a second post-mortem examination, claiming the first found no evidence that Moat was hit by Tasers.
A source told Sky News how police negotiators felt they were making positive progress with him during the stand-off in the Northumberland town of Rothbury.
Moat discussed how life would be in prison, but then the tone changed and he got to his feet and moved his shotgun to the side of his head. He said how he would miss his loved ones, and shortly after shot himself, according to the report.
After the blast, officers fired Tasers twice, although neither round made proper contact with him, it was reported, lodging instead in his hooded top. That would explain there being no marks on his body from the stun gun rounds.
The IPCC took over the Moat inquiry immediately after his death on July 10. A spokesman said investigators still have much work to do: "I do not know who the source is, but this has not come from our investigation. It is not something that has been established by our investigation yet."
Moat's uncle, Charlie Alexander, said the results of the second post-mortem examination are not due to be published for two weeks. The former Royal Artillery warrant officer, 72, said that until the results are known, any theory on Moat's death is just speculation.
Speaking from his home in Leam Lane, Gateshead, Mr Alexander said: "The idea that Raoul shot himself before he was Tasered would appear to clear the police. I have no idea where this information has come from."
A rail employee has been sacked for allegedly deliberately falsifying records of railway level-crossing inspections.
Network Rail said the sacking followed a "comprehensive internal investigation" into allegations, believed to centre on crossings in the Anglia area not being inspected when they should have been.
It is understood that NR investigated claims that nine inspections were falsely claimed to have been carried out.
A Network Rail spokesman said: "Network Rail has taken action against the individual concerned and put in place a robust plan which has seen more than two-thirds of the crossings on the Anglia route inspected in the last nine months, finding no cause for concern at any crossing.
"The fact that these discrepancies were picked up so quickly, and that swift action was taken against the individual concerned, demonstrates clearly that the procedures we have in place are fit for purpose and do the job they are there to do, which is to keep the public safe."
There are more than 1,000 level crossings on the Anglia route, and around 700 have been inspected in the last nine months.
None of the allegations involve the level crossing at Sudbury in Suffolk where a train was derailed earlier this month when it hit a sewage tanker, injuring 22 people.
The 38-year-old tanker driver has been charged with endangering safety on the railway.
A spokesman for the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) said: "The Office of Rail Regulation is investigating the serious incident at the Sewage Works Lane level crossing near Sudbury on 17 August. We are working in co-operation with the British Transport Police and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.
"As with any criminal investigation ORR inspectors will follow all reasonable lines of inquiry, but we do not discuss the detail of current investigations in public."
Three people have been arrested by Customs officials in connection with betting allegations against Pakistani cricket players.
Two men and a woman, all from London, were questioned as part of an investigation into money laundering before being released on bail, HM Revenue and Customs said.
The development came as it was announced that three Pakistan cricketers will meet officials from their country in London on Wednesday.
HM Revenue and Customs said in a statement: "Three individuals were arrested on Sunday as part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering.
"This includes two 35-year-olds - a male and a female - from the Croydon area, and a 49-year-old male from the Wembley area.
"These individuals were arrested, questioned and have been bailed pending further investigation."
A spokeswoman refused to confirm whether the arrests were linked to the alleged betting scam reported by the News of the World.
The newspaper said journalists posing as Far Eastern businessmen paid a middleman £150,000 to arrange for Pakistan players to deliberately bowl no-balls to order in last week's fourth Test against England at Lord's.
Following the report, Mazhar Majeed, 35, a cricket agent who also owns Croydon Athletic Football Club, was arrested by Scotland Yard detectives then released on police bail.
Four Pakistan players - Test captain Salman Butt, bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal - were questioned by police over the allegations at their London hotel.
A price limit on the sale of alcohol should be brought in across the UK, a commission set up to find new ways of tackling Scotland's drinking culture has said.
The Alcohol Commission, which was established by Labour, urged Scottish ministers to lobby the Westminster Government to bring in a ban on selling alcohol at below "floor price" of the cost of production, plus the cost of duty and VAT.
In addition to that, it called for a ban on sponsorship of sports by alcohol companies.
The commission also wants advertising of cheap drink promotions in the media to end, with consideration to be given to a total ban on alcohol advertising.
The Scottish Government has already put forward a number of measures aimed at dealing with the country's drinking culture - including controversial plans for a minimum price per unit for alcohol. But the commission warned the creation of a separate pricing structure in Scotland could lead to a black market.
Commission chairwoman Professor Sally Brown also argued their approach would mean extra cash raised from any increased drink prices would go to the public purse, not retailers or producers.
Prof Brown, the Professor Emeritus of Education at Stirling University, spoke out at the launch of the commission report.
She insisted Scotland had to be "very serious about resolving its alarming problems of alcohol misuse", adding: "We need a broad-based, coherent and effective strategy that recognises the complexities of the difficulties we face - there is no silver bullet that will provide a quick fix.
"The commission was repeatedly told that it will be difficult to change Scotland's culture in relation to alcohol, but it can be done. We need leadership that both recognises the problem and is prepared to take comprehensive steps."
On the issue of pricing, Prof Brown added: "We are agreed that increasing the price of alcohol should be part of a broader package to reduce levels of abuse. Our view is that taxation should be the main lever for raising prices because the additional revenue raised goes to the public purse."
Nick Clegg has insisted the military campaign in Afghanistan is "turning the corner" as he made a surprise visit to the country.
British forces have been "creating the space" in which a political settlement could be reached with elements of the Taliban who are prepared to renounce violence, according to the Deputy Prime Minister.
He added that the UK coalition Government's 2015 deadline for all British combat troops to be pulled out will not be extended.
Mr Clegg spoke at Camp Bastion base after spending Monday night and Tuesday in southern Helmand.
He praised the "bravery and professionalism" of the UK's 10,000-plus force, stressing how much the situation had seen a "complete transformation" since his only previous visit in 2008.
"We hear so much bad news," he told a group of around 50 troops training in a mocked-up Afghan village.
"Of course the country mourns when people lose their lives. People are full of anguish when there are serious injuries. But what I have seen today is a complete transformation of the military effort that I first saw when I visited two years ago.
"When I was here two years ago there were arguments about equipment, there were doubts about whether we had sufficient people and resources. There was real concern over whether we had the right strategy. But now two years later - I was in Nad-i-Ali this morning, two years ago we barely had a footprint there. Now the district governor's telling me he knows of young Taliban fighters putting down their arms to participate in a peaceful life.
"I think you are turning the corner, and what you are doing is you're creating the space for Afghan society to find its own feet."
He said the British military commitment is "completely consistent" with President Hamid Karzai's plans for Afghan forces to take control of security by 2014 and insisted that the looming deep cuts in the Ministry of Defence budget would not hit supplies for frontline troops.
A House of Commons official has been told he may be jailed for siphoning off nearly £6,000 by faking MPs' expense claims.
Andrew Gibson, 49, who worked in the Parliamentary Fees Office, drew up false invoices in the names of three former MPs, Southwark Crown Court was told.
He then put the money into an account held by his friend Toni Pomfret, 50, to whom he was in debt, the court heard.
Gibson, from Athol Square, Limehouse, Tower Hamlets, east London, pleaded guilty to three charges of obtaining money transfers by deception worth £1,880, £2,115 and £1,880 in 2005.
Pomfret, a rail ticket inspector, from Pembroke Drive, Goffs Oak, Waltham Cross, Herts, admitted three charges of acquiring criminal property.
The court heard Gibson had created false expense claims and invoices for typing and secretarial services in the names of Tam Dalyell, Linda Perham and Matthew Green, all MPs who left the House of Commons in 2005. The false claims were made after the general election of 2005.
Another count of conspiracy to defraud against the two men was allowed to lie on file.
Police sources said afterwards that the fraud was uncovered by the Legg inquiry into MPs' expenses. It was believed that Gibson had been settling a gambling debt with Pomfret, according to the source.
Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC told the men: "These are serious matters. The court cannot be bound by any recommendation that is made in a pre-sentence report. Plainly the court will have in mind the real possibility of a custodial sentence."
Sentencing was adjourned until September 30.
Labour is bracing itself for a fresh outbreak of Blair/Brown infighting with the publication of Tony Blair's eagerly awaited memoirs.
Mr Blair's office has refused to be drawn on speculation that the book, entitled A Journey, will include a scathing assessment of Gordon Brown's time in power and his responsibility, as Chancellor, for creating the conditions for the banking meltdown.
It is thought unlikely Mr Blair will use the book to endorse a candidate to succeed Mr Brown as leader, but all eyes at Westminster will be on a TV interview being broadcast on Wednesday for any hints of his views on the contenders.
The hour-long chat with Andrew Marr, to be shown at 7pm on BBC2, is Mr Blair's first significant TV interview on UK politics since he left Downing Street in 2007.
Unconfirmed reports suggest Mr Blair has privately said leadership candidate Ed Miliband would be "a disaster" as PM, and any remarks about the need to preserve the New Labour legacy are likely to be interpreted as a mark of support for his brother David.
Mr Blair himself will be out of the UK on publication day, attending the opening of Middle East peace talks at the White House in Washington in his role as the international Quartet's envoy.
Details of the content of the book are being kept a closely-guarded secret by publishers Random House ahead of its worldwide release at 8am on Wednesday. Unusually for a major political autobiography, no serialisation deal has been struck and review copies are not being sent out.
Attention will undoubtedly focus on Mr Blair's account of his stormy relationship with Mr Brown, as well as on his decision to take Britain into war in Iraq alongside the US.
Opponents of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are to stage a protest to mark the publication of what they branded "the memoirs of a war criminal".
The Stop the War Coalition said: "Rather than having his memoirs promoted, Tony Blair should be being held to account for the terrible suffering he has inflicted. His decisions took Britain into two wars that have had catastrophic consequences."
A General Medical Council disciplinary panel has ruled Dr Freddy Patel, the pathologist who carried out the first autopsy on Ian Tomlinson who died at last year's G20 protest, acted in a way that amounted to misconduct during two earlier post-mortem examinations and his fitness to practise is impaired.
The panel also ruled that Dr Patel had displayed deficient professional performance in a third post-mortem.
The panel had already concluded that Dr Patel was "irresponsible" and failed to meet professional standards during his examinations of the bodies of a five-year-old girl in 2002, a four-week-old baby in 2003 and a woman who died in 2005.
Panel chairman Richard Davies told Dr Patel: "The panel is not satisfied that there is no risk of the relevant conduct being repeated."
Dr Patel, 63, was said by the panel to have behaved irresponsibly, failed to meet standards expected of a Home Office pathologist and acted in a way liable to bring the profession into disrepute when he changed the woman's cause of death in 2005.
He carried out a post-mortem examination on January 5, and decided she had died due to a blood clot in the coronary arteries.
A month later, following a second post-mortem examination by another pathologist, he prepared an addendum to his report, changing the cause of death to a brain haemorrhage in line with the new findings.
Dr Patel told an inquest into the woman's death he had changed the primary cause of death "to satisfy the family" but Mr Davies said the pathologist's assumption the change made no difference from the coroner's viewpoint, as the death was not suspicious, and merely allowed an inquest to proceed was not an adequate explanation.
During Tuesday's ruling Mr Davies said Dr Patel's "acts and omissions were very serious" and amounted to misconduct. He said pathologists "must not set aside their professional judgment for any of the parties involved during or after a post-mortem examination for reasons of expediency or anything else".
Dr Patel's failure to note the weights of individual organs examined, as is recommended by Royal College of Pathologists' guidance, also showed deficient professional performance.
The matchday doctor at the centre of the "Bloodgate" fake rugby injury scandal has been told she can practise medicine again.
Dr Wendy Chapman cut the lip of Harlequins player Tom Williams to cover up a bogus blood injury and later lied about her role in the event.
A General Medical Council (GMC) disciplinary panel ruled Dr Chapman's fitness to practise was not impaired despite her actions, which it said were not in the best interests of her patient.
She was suspended by the GMC last September and could have been struck off at the hearing in Manchester.
Panel chairman Dr Brian Alderman said Dr Chapman was guilty of "serious misconduct" but she was "severely depressed" at the time.
She would not have acted in the way she did but for her "altered state of mind", he said.
He added: "The panel has concluded that, while at the times these events occurred your fitness to practise was impaired, looking forward, your fitness to practise is currently not impaired.
"You do not pose any risk to patients or the public. The panel accepts that there is a public interest in retaining the services of a good doctor."
Dr Alderman said the panel would consider on Wednesday morning whether it was appropriate to issue a warning to the doctor.
Legal representatives for Dr Chapman said she would not comment publicly on the hearing until then.
