The armed forces cannot be exempt from the public spending cuts, the Ministry of Defence's top civil servant warned, amid claims that almost 80% of soldiers had considered leaving the Army because of financial difficulties.
Ursula Brennan, the permanent under-secretary at the MoD, acknowledged that it was a "tough message" to get across, but insisted that the forces continued to offer good levels of pay and allowances.
Her comments came as the Army Families Federation (AFF) disclosed that a poll it had conducted of between 1,200 and 1,500 troops and their families found that 78% had felt like quitting the service.
The Royal British Legion (RBL) has also accused ministers of backtracking on a commitment to enshrine in law the military covenant which sets out the nation's obligations to its service men and women.
Giving evidence to the Commons Defence Committee, Ms Brennan said that the forces needed to understand the broader economic situation in which the Government was operating.
"The Government's top priority is the resolution of its fiscal problems and reducing the deficit," she said.
"One thing that the armed forces need to do is to recognise that they cannot be exempt from that broader picture. That is a tough message that one needs to get across sometimes. But as a whole we have a programme which still provides for the armed forces challenging and exciting careers with a regime of pay and reward which still offers a good level of pay, a good level of allowances and a good level of pensions."
Earlier AFF chief executive Julie McCarthy said that soldiers were feeling the pressure "from all sides" at a time that they are still fighting hard in Afghanistan.
She warned that unless the Army was able to retain the support of families, many troops would simply leave.
Meanwhile, RBL director Chris Simpkins said that measures in the Armed Forces Bill, requiring the MoD to publish an annual report on the military covenant were not in the same league as inscribing it in legislation as David Cameron had pledged. "The covenant is a concept that we think should be enshrined into law so that the public can hold any Government's feet to the fire about whether it is being properly honoured and respected," he told The Times.
The armed forces cannot be exempt from the public spending cuts, the Ministry of Defence's top civil servant warned, amid claims that almost 80% of soldiers had considered leaving the Army because of financial difficulties.
Ursula Brennan, the permanent under-secretary at the MoD, acknowledged that it was a "tough message" to get across, but insisted that the forces continued to offer good levels of pay and allowances.
Her comments came as the Army Families Federation (AFF) disclosed that a poll it had conducted of between 1,200 and 1,500 troops and their families found that 78% had felt like quitting the service.
The Royal British Legion (RBL) has also accused ministers of backtracking on a commitment to enshrine in law the military covenant which sets out the nation's obligations to its service men and women.
Giving evidence to the Commons Defence Committee, Ms Brennan said that the forces needed to understand the broader economic situation in which the Government was operating.
"The Government's top priority is the resolution of its fiscal problems and reducing the deficit," she said.
"One thing that the armed forces need to do is to recognise that they cannot be exempt from that broader picture. That is a tough message that one needs to get across sometimes. But as a whole we have a programme which still provides for the armed forces challenging and exciting careers with a regime of pay and reward which still offers a good level of pay, a good level of allowances and a good level of pensions."
Earlier AFF chief executive Julie McCarthy said that soldiers were feeling the pressure "from all sides" at a time that they are still fighting hard in Afghanistan.
She warned that unless the Army was able to retain the support of families, many troops would simply leave.
Meanwhile, RBL director Chris Simpkins said that measures in the Armed Forces Bill, requiring the MoD to publish an annual report on the military covenant were not in the same league as inscribing it in legislation as David Cameron had pledged. "The covenant is a concept that we think should be enshrined into law so that the public can hold any Government's feet to the fire about whether it is being properly honoured and respected," he told The Times.
Labour has fired the starting gun for the race to succeed disgraced MP Eric Illsley, who has been convicted of fiddling his expenses.
The party triggered the by-election in his Barnsley Central seat, expected to be on March 3, after it was confirmed that he had resigned as an MP.
The Treasury confirmed that he had been granted the ceremonial post of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham - the traditional way of resigning from Parliament.
Labour chief whip Rosie Winterton officially moved the writ in the Commons to trigger the contest.
Scotland Yard detectives are re-examining whether a series of high-profile individuals and celebrities were victims of phone hacking after fresh evidence emerged.
Senior officers said analysis of documents seized in 2005 alongside new information has led them to take a second look at whether some people may have fallen victim to the intrusive scam.
They admitted the individuals concerned were originally told there was "little or no" information held by police that they had been caught up in the newspaper scandal.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said although there remains no evidence their voice mails were hacked this is now an "important and immediate" new line of inquiry for investigators.
The spokesman added that police are taking "urgent steps" to contact potential victims and warn them of the new development.
He said: "Having begun an analysis of the documents seized in 2005 alongside the new evidence, the team have been able to make some links not previously identified.
"As a result, the team have also identified some individuals who were previously advised that there was little or no information held by the Met relating to them within the case papers and exhibits and this is now being reviewed.
"At this stage, there is no evidence to suggest that their voice mails were hacked but this will be an important and immediate new line of inquiry.
"As a result detectives are taking urgent steps to advise them of this development at the earliest opportunity.
"If any others are identified as possible victims in due course they will also be contacted."
The police officer who was blasted twice by shotgun maniac Raoul Moat has told how he played dead and then summoned the strength to raise the alarm despite suffering devastating injuries.
Pc David Rathband, 43, recalled being shot as he sat in his marked T5 Volvo traffic car, and told Newcastle Crown Court he knew exactly who it was behind the barrel of the gun.
The father-of-two, wearing his police uniform for the first time in public since he was almost killed last July, told the jury: "I realised that it was Raoul Moat who had approached the car and I can remember saying to myself 'Oh f*** - it's him'."
Moat was wanted for shooting his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, 22, and executing her new boyfriend Chris Brown the night before. Pc Rathband, who loved his job as a traffic officer, was on the look-out for Moat, and had already come across him in March over an uninsured vehicle and was already wary of the steroid-abuser.
Moat, 37, sneaked up on the officer who was parked on a roundabout at the junction of the A1 and A69 west of Newcastle. He blasted him once between the eyes, then again in the shoulder as the officer moved to raise the alarm.
The first shot was so loud inside the car that it felt like the noise was ripping his face, he told the court. He felt a sharp pain between his eyes and above the bridge of his nose.
"I knew I had been hit in the face and I knew my right eye had gone," he said. Another blast hit him on the left shoulder as he went to activate a mayday signal inside the car.
Pc Rathband said: "As I lay in the car, I realised I just had to lie there and literally play dead because it was quite clear Moat wanted me dead." Pc Rathband believed Moat was trying to execute him with the second shot.
He had somehow raised his left arm to protect himself, despite not hearing Moat move to shoot again. "He shot me in the middle of my eyes and the second shot was to finish me off," he told the jury.
Karl Ness, 26, and Qhuram Awan, 23, deny plotting to murder, attempted murder, robbery and having a gun. Ness also denies the murder of karate instructor Mr Brown, 29.
Nick Clegg has insisted there was "light at the end of the tunnel" for Britain after one of his closest allies sounded a dire warning over the dangers facing the economy.
The Deputy Prime Minister admitted the country faced a "long hard road" amid the eurozone crisis and stalling global growth.
But he sounded a distinctly more optimistic tone than Business Secretary Vince Cable - who highlighted on Monday night the risks of a new credit crunch or Japan-style lost decade of stagnation.
In a round of broadcast interviews at the Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham, Mr Clegg said Mr Cable had been "telling it as he sees it, which is that this is a very uncertain time economically".
"My own view is that we can and will get through this and there is of course light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
"But it is a long hard road to get there, because we have this great heart attack at the core of our economy in 2008 and it is still sending out aftershocks."
The party leader stressed that Britain's fate was closely tied to the fortunes of the EU, saying: "I think it is very difficult to stare into a crystal ball and be certain about the future."
Mr Clegg robustly defended the coalition's deficit reduction measures, but said ministers had to be more "articulate" about actions they were taking to stimulate growth.
"We need people to feel more confident and confidence is something which you can recognise when you see it but can disappear quite quickly," he said.
"That's why the Government is giving tax cuts to millions of people on low and middle incomes, that's why we are giving support to manufacturers."
A nurse accused of tampering with saline solution at a hospital has spoken of her horror at being dubbed an "angel of death" and "killer nurse" by newspapers.
Rebecca Leighton said she was "passionate" about her job and wanted to return to a "normal life" after charges against her were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) earlier this month.
"It was hard. I learned, obviously, through what I had been through, not to look too far down the line as to which way my life is going to go," she told ITV1's This Morning.
"I just had that little bit of faith that this is going to end and it has got to end because surely they have got to realise at some point that it is not me."
Miss Leighton was speaking in her first interview after being charged in July with contaminating saline solution at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester.
The 27-year-old spent more than six weeks in custody but was dramatically freed on September 2 after proceedings against her were discontinued.
Last week she was cleared to return to work by the Nursing and Midwifery Council subject to conditions, despite admitting to the theft of opiate-based drugs.
But she remains suspended on full pay by Stepping Hill while inquiries continue into allegations that she stole medication.
Miss Leighton told This Morning of her disbelief when she was arrested by police in the early hours of July 20 at her home in Heaviley, Stockport.
"It was horrendous, absolutely horrendous. Obviously I was asleep, in bed, I was meant to be at work the next day and I woke up to the police banging on the door," she said. "Even when they arrested me, I thought I would be home for teatime because surely they know I have done nothing wrong."
Two South Africans accused in the honeymoon murder of a Swedish visitor to Cape Town have appeared in court.
During Tuesday's hearing, Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, and Xolile Mngeni, 23 were ordered to return in February.
The victim's British husband also has been implicated in the shooting death of 28-year-old Anni Dewani whose body was found in an abandoned taxi in Cape Town's impoverished Gugulethu township in November.
Prosecutors say Mrs Dewani's husband, Shrien, hired Qwabe and Mngeni to kill her.
The trial has been postponed several times due to the poor health of Mngeni who has been diagnosed with a brain tumour.
A British court ruled in August that Shrien Dewani can be extradited to South Africa.
His extradition now awaits the approval of Home Secretary Theresa May.
Former environment minister Elliot Morley has been freed from prison after serving a quarter of his 16-month sentence for fiddling his parliamentary expenses, sources have said.
Morley, who claimed more than £30,000 in bogus mortgage payments relating to his home in Winterton, near Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, between 2004 and 2007, was released from Ford open prison, near Arundel, West Sussex, early on Tuesday morning.
He joins three other former Labour MPs - David Chaytor, Eric Illsley and Jim Devine - and two former Tory peers - Lord Taylor and Lord Hanningfield - who have already been released after serving time behind bars for their role in the expenses scandal.
Morley, 59, was the first former minister to be jailed for fiddling his expenses.
It is understood that he was freed under the home detention curfew scheme, which allows prisoners who pose a low risk to be tagged and released early after serving at least a quarter of their sentence.
He pleaded guilty in April to claiming more than £30,000 in the scam, the largest sum claimed by any of the politicians so far convicted over the expenses scandal.
Sentencing Morley to 16 months' imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court in May, Mr Justice Saunders said he was guilty of "blatant dishonesty" and had "thrown away his good name and character".
In total, he claimed £16,800 on a bogus mortgage and £15,200 after inflating the amount he was previously paying - for which he should have been entitled to only £1,572.
Emma Boon, campaign director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said the early release "will do little to restore taxpayers' faith in politics after the expenses scandal".
"Even if he is not a dangerous criminal, he and other MPs and peers convicted over fraudulent claims should have served more of their sentences to reflect the seriousness of their crimes," she said. "It's disgraceful that he's walked free so soon and many taxpayers will feel that justice has not been done."
The parents of landscape architect Joanna Yeates have come face to face for the first time in court with their daughter's killer.
David and Teresa Yeates were at Bristol Crown Court for a pre-trial hearing for Vincent Tabak.
The couple have not seen Tabak in person in court before as the defendant has appeared by videolink from prison at the previous hearings they attended.
They arrived and left court hand in hand, accompanied by two police officers.
Tabak, a Dutch engineer, has admitted the manslaughter of Miss Yeates, a 25-year-old graduate, but denies her murder.
The charge states that Tabak "unlawfully killed" Miss Yeates between December 16 and December 19.
The greying 33-year-old wore glasses, a white shirt, blue tie and grey suit for the 30 minute hearing before Judge Martin Picton.
Miss Yeates' parents sat in the second row of the public gallery and Mrs Yeates occasionally looked over her shoulder towards Tabak.
The hearing was being held to finalise arrangements for the four-week trial, which is due to begin on October 4 before Mr Justice Field. The case was adjourned until the trial and Tabak was remanded into custody.
Miss Yeates, who lived in Clifton, Bristol, disappeared on December 17 after going for Christmas drinks with colleagues. Her frozen body was found dumped on a verge in a lane in Failand, north Somerset, on Christmas Day.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed its growth forecasts for the UK as it warned that the global economy is in a "dangerous new phase".
The UK will see gross domestic product (GDP) grow 1.1% in 2011, compared with the IMF's last World Economic Outlook report in April of 1.7%, and by 1.6% in 2012, compared with 2.3%.
The forecasts for the UK in 2011 fall behind projections for Germany, France, the US and Canada.
The IMF, now led by former French finance minister Christine Lagarde, warned that the forecasts were dependent on the eurozone debt crisis being contained and US policymakers balancing support for the economy with fiscal tightening.
The downgrade is the latest blow to the UK's recovery prospects after the influential think-tank OECD cut its estimate for growth amid a raft of a disappointing economic data.
However, the gloomy outlook is unlikely to deter Chancellor George Osborne from his tough programme of spending cuts and tax reform as the IMF has previously given full backing to his austerity measures.
Ms Lagarde earlier this month said the UK's stance remained "appropriate" but "the heightened risk" meant a need for a "heightened readiness to respond".
The Chancellor's deficit reduction plans have been challenged by business leaders, economists and opposition politicians in recent months as the economic outlook for the UK deteriorates.
But Mr Osborne is determined to continue with the austerity measures laid out last October in his Comprehensive Spending Review, which he has labelled "the rock of stability" on which the economy is built.
John Hawksworth, chief economist at professional services firm PwC, said: "Downside risks have risen significantly in recent months so it would be wise for both governments and businesses to develop contingency plans in case such as double dip scenario does emerge. These new IMF projections certainly support our recent argument for more quantitative easing in the UK sooner rather than later."
Protesters inside the UK's largest illegal travellers' site have said they will open the heavily barricaded main gate.
Meanwhile, Basildon Council confirmed that, if it succeeds in overturning the injunction preventing clearance of the Essex site at a court hearing on Friday, action could recommence within hours.
A spokesman said: "No decision has been taken but this is a seven-day operation and we could move in on the Saturday."
Earlier, supporters and residents on Dale Farm, near Basildon, said a planning inspector would be allowed to enter. Despite the concession, campaigners insist that the heavily barricaded main gate will remain in place.
The Dale Farm Solidarity campaign said that, following a meeting, the gate would be opened to allow residents to return and for the school bus to collect children.
Campaigner Sam Walters said: "Basildon Council must take this time to fulfil its responsibility to find and approve a legal and culturally suitable site for the Dale Farm community. It is imperative that the council engages in a meaningful and appropriate way with residents in fulfilling the injunction."
"A leaked source has revealed that the council intends to communicate with the residents via email. The council is aware of the fact that, due to limited opportunities for schooling for most travellers, a large proportion of the Dale Farm residents are illiterate, and have virtually no access to email."
A spokesman for Basildon Council said it would serve a schedule of how it will enforce the clearance of each plot by midday, setting out the precise action the authority intends to take.
He added that, should the council overturn the injunction, travellers will be liable for all costs incurred by the delay. The estimated cost of the total operation is £18 million.
Council leader Tony Ball said he was frustrated by the delay but added that he was confident the ruling would be overturned once the authority presents the facts to the court.
Rupert Murdoch is set to donate £1 million to charity from his own pocket as part of a multimillion-pound settlement over the hacking of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone.
The Dowler family is likely to receive about £2 million in a separate payout from News International, the publishers of the now-defunct News of the World.
News International has confirmed it is in "advanced negotiations" with relatives of the 13-year-old, who was abducted and killed by Levi Bellfield in 2002.
The firm is reported to have set aside £20 million for payments to phone hacking victims, but a source said the size of the expected compensation for the Dowlers reflected the "wholly exceptional circumstances" of their case.
Sources close to the Dowlers have said any agreement will feature a donation to charity. It is not yet known which cause, or causes, would benefit.
A News International spokesman said: "News International confirms it is in advanced negotiations with the Dowler family regarding their compensation settlement. No final agreement has yet been reached, but we hope to conclude the discussions as quickly as possible."
Claims that Milly's voicemails were illegally intercepted by a private investigator working for the News of the World after she went missing in 2002 triggered a string of damaging revelations that led to the closure of the News of the World in July.
Mr Murdoch personally apologised to Milly's parents Sally and Bob and her sister Gemma when he met them in London in July. Their lawyer Mark Lewis said Mr Murdoch had been left "humbled" by the meeting.
The Hacked Off campaign, which has highlighted complaints of media eavesdropping on private calls, said in a statement it was "pleased to learn that the Dowler family have reached a settlement with News Corporation".
"This is a welcome signal of remorse from News Corporation," it said. "It would have been more welcome still had it not come almost a decade after the original incident and only as a result of the exposure of phone hacking through dogged journalism - not by News International."
A philandering music teacher who led a double life while dating a string of women has been found guilty of the brutal murder of his fiancee.
Andrew Lindo, 29, strangled, battered and stabbed Marie Stewart to death before storing her body in a flight bag in the garage. He will be sentenced tomorrow.
Hours after killing Miss Stewart, Lindo put their two young children in his car and went to collect his latest lover, Angela Rylance.
A jury at Bradford Crown Court heard how an unwitting Miss Rylance spent the night with Lindo in the bedroom where the fatal attack took place and two floors above the garage where Miss Stewart's body was hidden.
It rejected his claim that he lost control following a row with Miss Stewart, during which he accused her of mistreating their young daughter.
Miss Stewart, 30, described as a caring and devoted mother who worked with disabled children, was set upon by Lindo while their two children were asleep in the house in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.
Lindo - described as an "inveterate and accomplished liar" - had been living a double life, having affairs with a number of women. There was also an allegation he was involved with a 15-year-old girl.
The jury was told Lindo admitted killing his partner but denied murder.
He did not give evidence from the witness box but described to police how he first strangled Miss Stewart and then, when she was still making noises, hit her with a child's chair and tried to choke her with a belt. He dragged her down to the basement garage in a suitcase and finally killed her by stabbing her 12 times with a kitchen knife.
The court heard he then stored her body in a flight bag in the garage of their town house on Perseverance Place, Holmfirth. The body was found on February 13 after friends and family became suspicious of Lindo's claims that she had moved abroad for another man and alerted the police.
A man has appeared in court charged with aggravated burglary at a house where an intruder was stabbed to death by the homeowner.
Michael Anthony Thorpe, 33, of Outwood Road, Heald Green, Stockport, remained handcuffed to a security guard during the brief hearing at Stockport Magistrates' Court.
Thorpe is accused of entering the house of Vincent Cooke, 39, in Bramhall, Stockport, on Saturday night while armed with a knife.
One of the intruders, Raymond Jacob, from Wythenshawe, south Manchester, suffered fatal stab wounds in the struggle.
Mr Cooke was arrested on suspicion of murder and is now on bail until next month.
Detectives investigating the stabbing said they must determine whether it was "a criminal act" or "self-defence".
Mr Cooke was initially at home alone at the time of the incident, around 7.50pm on Saturday, but his wife, Karen, and their 12-year-old son returned during the incident. They escaped unharmed.
Police, along with paramedics, gave first aid to Mr Jacob, but he died shortly afterwards.
No pleas were entered during the hearing and there was no application for bail.
Thorpe was remanded into custody to appear for trial at Manchester Crown Court on December 2.
Google has opened up its Google Plus social network to everyone after testing it with a limited audience for 12 weeks.
Google said in a blog post that it will now let anyone sign up for Google Plus.
Previously the service was only available by invitation, though it got easier to join in recent weeks.
The company also added a search capability to Google Plus that will let users sift through posts on the site.
Google Plus is the online search leader's attempt to compete with Facebook, by far the world's most populous online social network with more than 750 million users.
The upgrades come two days ahead of Facebook's f8 conference in San Francisco, where the company is expected to unveil several new features.
Google also made Plus's "Hangouts" feature - which lets users video chat with multiple people at a time - available on smartphones with front-facing cameras. The feature currently works with phones running Google's Android system. Google said support for Apple devices is coming soon.
A new service called "Hangouts On Air," meanwhile, lets users broadcast their videos online or view these videos as spectators.
https://plus.google.com/up/start/?continue=https://plus.google.com/&type=st&gpcaz=86f57440(Google Plus)
The former president of Afghanistan has been killed by a bomber who hid explosives inside his turban.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Burhanuddin Rabbani, the head of the High Peace Council, would be "sorely missed" but vowed that work towards peace in the country would continue.
Mr Rabbani died at his home in Kabul in an attack which also injured key presidential adviser Mohammad Massoom Stanekzai, secretary to the High Peace Council.
His death will be regarded as a severe blow to efforts to resolve tribal tensions and the chances of beginning peace talks with Taliban insurgents.
Mr Cameron said: "He was a respected former president of Afghanistan and played a vital role as the chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council.
"We met on my last trip to Afghanistan where I was able to hear and see for myself his determination to work for a better Afghanistan.
"He will be sorely missed but the work of the Peace Council will go on. We remain determined to see Afghanistan prosper."
Mr Rabbani was president of the Afghan government that preceded the Taliban. After he was driven from Kabul in 1996, he became the nominal head of the Northern Alliance, mostly minority Tajiks and Uzbeks, who swept to power in Kabul after the Taliban's fall.
General John R Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, said: "The face of the peace initiative has been attacked. This is another outrageous indicator that, regardless of what Taliban leadership outside the country say, they do not want peace, but rather war.
"Their only goal with this completely immoral act is to turn the clock back to the darkness synonymous with the Taliban movement."
Being born prematurely increases the risk of dying early as a young child or adult, a study has shown.
Scientists looked at data on more than 600,000 people born in Sweden between 1973 and 1979.
A "strong inverse association" was found between gestational age at birth and death between the ages of one and five.
In other words, children were more likely to die in their first five years the more prematurely they were born.
The pattern faded away in late childhood and adolescence, but returned in young adulthood between the ages of 18 and 36.
During this age period, individuals were again more likely to die if they were born pre-term.
In young adulthood, death rates per 1,000 "person years" ranged from 0.95 for those born most prematurely to 0.46 for those born after a full-term pregnancy.
A person year is the sum of all the years each member of a study population has been under observation. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The researchers, led by Dr Casey Crump, from Stanford University in California, wrote: "The underlying mechanisms are still largely unknown but may involve a complex interplay of foetal and post-natal (post birth) nutritional abnormalities, other intra-uterine exposures including glucocorticoid (a steroid hormone) and sex hormone alterations, and common genetic factors."
They added: "Clinicians will increasingly encounter the sequelae (consequences) of pre-term birth throughout the life course and will need to be aware of the long-term effects on the survivors, their families and society."
Children at risk of becoming the next generation of rioters will be offered summer school places to keep them "on the right path", Nick Clegg is to tell the Liberal Democrat conference.
The Deputy Prime Minister will announce that £50 million of Pupil Premium cash will be devoted to getting up to 100,000 pupils from deprived backgrounds on the two-week courses.
He will highlight the plan as part of a personal "charge for social mobility" in a bid to reassure activists that Liberal Democrat values have survived the party joining the Tory-led Government.
Closing an annual gathering punctuated by increasingly vocal attacks on coalition colleagues by senior figures, Mr Clegg will say he is battling "those who do so well out of the status quo". Party president Tim Farron won a standing ovation for warning sharing power with the Tories had "tainted" the party.
Mr Clegg however has urged grassroots members to "stop beating themselves up" about the move and focus instead on the potential for stamping Lib Dem influence on Government policy.
In his keynote speech, he will tell them that fairness remains what he "cares most about" and pledge to fight for it despite backing cuts and austerity measures.
"People keep telling me that it's too hard. That it's futile to push for fairness into the headwinds of an economic downturn, or that it will just take too long and I should find some politically convenient 'quick wins' instead," he will tell the annual gathering in Birmingham.
"But for liberals the only struggles worth having are the uphill ones. Allowing schools to put poorer children at the front of the queue for admissions. Making universities open their doors to everyone. Making firms work harder to get women on their boards. Breaking open internships."
Setting out the summer school plans, Mr Clegg will say: "Too many of these young people had simply fallen through the cracks. Not just this summer but many summers ago when they lost touch with their own future. So often the people who have gone off the rails are the ones who were struggling years earlier."
Although schools will not be forced to put on summer schools, any that do not will lose part of their share of Pupil Premium cash - worth a total of £2.5 billion a year by 2015.
Businessman Shrien Dewani sought a hitman to murder his new wife on their honeymoon, a court in South Africa has heard.
Dewani, 31, denies any involvement in the death of Anni Dewani, who was shot dead in a taxi in Cape Town last November in an apparent car-jacking.
Wynberg Regional Court in Cape Town was told that Dewani, from Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, approached an airport shuttle service operator to "procure a hit man to have a woman killed".
He is said to have made the request almost immediately after arriving at the Cape Grace Hotel last November with his 28-year-old wife. The allegation formed part of an indictment handed to two other men accused of killing Mrs Dewani during the court hearing.
Xolile Wellington Mngeni and Mziwamadoda Lennox Qwabe have appeared at Wynberg Regional Court in Cape Town to face charges of murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
The two men, who are also accused of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, will face trial at Western Cape High Court next year.
Mngeni, who has a malignant brain tumour, was helped into the dock by his co-accused before they were committed for trial. During their last hearing, from which Mngeni was absent, the court undertook to decide by Tuesday whether to abandon the charges against him because of his condition but there was no mention of his tumour in court.
Mrs Dewani was shot dead in an apparent car-jacking in the impoverished Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town last November. Her husband and cab driver Zola Tongo were ejected from the vehicle.
Dewani was later accused of ordering the attack. He was implicated by Tongo, 31, who claimed in a plea bargain that Dewani had offered him 15,000 rand (£1,400) for the killing.
Last month a judge ruled Dewani could be extradited to South Africa to stand trial. The cab driver, from Bothasig, has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and perverting the course of justice.
Scotland Yard has dropped its legal bid to force the Guardian newspaper to reveal information about the source of its phone hacking stories.
The Metropolitan Police said it had "decided not to pursue" production orders against the broadsheet and one of its reporters after taking legal advice.
Editor Alan Rusbridger said: "We greatly welcome the Met's decision to withdraw this ill-judged order. We would have fought this assault on public interest journalism all the way. We're happy that good sense has prevailed."
The force had said it wanted to identify evidence of "potential breaches relating to Misconduct in Public Office and the Official Secrets Act". It had intended to seek the orders in a court hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday.
An officer working on Operation Weeting, the force's investigation into phone hacking, was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office relating to the unauthorised disclosure of information. He has been suspended from duty and is on bail.
The Metropolitan Police's Directorate of Professional Standards on Monday consulted the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which asked for more information to be provided to them.
A police spokesman said: "In addition the MPS has taken further legal advice this afternoon and as a result has decided not to pursue, at this time, the application for production orders scheduled for hearing on Friday September 23.
"We have agreed with the CPS that we will work jointly with them in considering the next steps. This decision does not mean that the investigation has been concluded."
He added: "Despite recent media reports, there was no intention to target journalists or disregard journalists' obligations to protect their sources."
Guardian reporter Amelia Hill, the newspaper's special investigations correspondent, was interviewed under caution by Scotland Yard over alleged leaks from Operation Weeting. She has broken a string of exclusives about the phone hacking inquiry.
