October 12, 2011, 11:04 pm
![NHS 'fails to match Euro standards']()
Thousands of people may be dying unnecessarily in an NHS that "is too centralised, overly-managed by politicians and is too insulated from competition", a lobby group has said.
Analysis of mortality figures by the TaxPayers' Alliance suggests almost 12,000 extra deaths occurred in the UK in 2008 than would have been the case if the UK had matched the average rates for several European countries.
It said healthcare in Britain fails to match up to the standards of its European neighbours "not because it is underfunded".
In a foreword to the report, Nick Bosanquet, professor of health policy at Imperial College London and chairman of a private consultancy firm, said: "In this latest review the UK rate of mortality amenable to healthcare in 2008 was 33% higher than the average rate of the Netherlands, France and Spain leading to 11,749 more deaths.
"Such evidence does not affect deep emotional loyalty but it should surely prevent the kind of uncritical endorsement of the current system which we have heard so much of from the British Medical Association. They are uncritically endorsing a system which is not delivering rather than showing any sense of urgency in seeking explanations."
Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Billions of pounds have been thrown at the NHS but the additional spending has made no discernable difference to the long-term pattern of falling mortality. This is a colossal waste of lives and money.
"We need to learn lessons from European countries with healthcare systems that don't suffer from the same degree of political management, monopolistic provision and centralisation."
Health minister Simon Burns said: "This is exactly why we need to modernise the NHS; to improve results for patients, and deliver a world-class health service. The principles of our modernisation plans - patient power, clinical leadership, and a focus on reducing bureaucracy and waste to make every penny count - will help drive up standards to match the best in Europe."
A spokesman for the BMA said: "Comparing different healthcare systems meaningfully is always difficult. However, it's worth noting that a recent in-depth study of healthcare in seven industrialised countries ranked the UK's system as the most efficient, and also rated it highly on quality and access."
"Of course, the NHS should not be immune from criticism, and should always be seeking to improve. However, there is little or no evidence to support the Taxpayers' Alliance's call for more competition."
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October 12, 2011, 11:04 pm
!['In-depth' Litvinenko inquest plea]()
Lawyers for the widow of murdered Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko are to call for a detailed inquest to be held into his death.
Marina Litvinenko's legal team will urge St Pancras coroner Dr Andrew Reid to hold an in-depth investigation into how the former KGB agent came to die of radioactive polonium-210 poisoning in a London hospital nearly five years ago.
Scotland Yard is expected to argue in favour of a more limited inquest to avoid prejudicing any future criminal trial of those responsible for the murder. The hearing will also consider whether the inquest should be chaired by a High Court judge and heard by a jury, according to the murdered dissident's friend Alex Goldfarb.
Mr Litvinenko, 43, fell ill shortly after drinking tea during a meeting at a West End hotel with former KGB contacts and died in London's University College Hospital on November 23 2006.
British prosecutors named fellow ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoy as the main suspect in his murder, but the Russian authorities have repeatedly refused to send him to face trial in the UK.
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev insisted during a visit to Moscow by Prime Minister David Cameron last month that Mr Lugovoy - now a Russian MP - would never be extradited to Britain.
Mr Goldfarb, who has campaigned for Mr Litvinenko's killers to be brought to justice, said holding a detailed inquest was important both to uncover the truth and to protect the public. "Apart from Mr Litvinenko's death, we have an act of radiological terrorism committed in the centre of London, where hundreds of people, if not thousands, were put at risk," he said. "From the standpoint of public safety it is a very serious matter of public safety and should be explored in depth."
He added: "The police told us directly that they are opposing the (in-depth) inquest for the reason that they want to apprehend Mr Lugovoy. They think that this will either be prejudicial to a criminal trial or it will expose their evidence and witnesses.
"Legally, that doesn't stand up. The inquest does not preclude a criminal trial, which is totally unrealistic because Mr Medvedev told Mr Cameron directly earlier this month that Mr Lugovoy will never be extradited."
A spokesman for the coroner said the pre-inquest review was due to be very short and would focus on legal issues.
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October 12, 2011, 11:04 pm
![Think-tank backs £14bn tax breaks]()
The 50p top rate should be scrapped and corporation tax cut to breathe new life into the British economy, according to a think-tank.
The Centre for Policy Studies is also calling for employers' national insurance contributions to be reduced and the tax-free personal allowance to be increased by £500.
The £14 billion package could be largely funded by holding international aid spending at 2010-11 levels, abolishing differential rates of pension tax relief for higher earners, and ending the 25% tax-free entitlement on pension lump sums.
The remaining £3.6 billion would come from abolishing "contracting out" of the state second pension, according to the CPS.
The pamphlet admits that polling by ComRes suggests the majority of people oppose abandoning the 50p rate.
However, it claims the move would enjoy significant support when combined with an increase in the personal allowance.
CPS director Tim Knox said: "Today's low growth rates threaten the coalition's ambitions to eliminate the deficit.
"Fast action is needed now. Cutting tax on enterprise will give the best boost to the economy."
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October 12, 2011, 11:04 pm
![Group wants long-term nuclear plans]()
The Government must establish long-term plans for a new generation of nuclear power plants so future generations are not left dealing with its legacy, experts have urged.
Ministers must work with the industry to create a "holistic" strategy which deals effectively with reprocessing and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and does not treat it simply as "an afterthought", they warned.
The new build programme must also take into account the UK's stockpile of civil plutonium - the largest in the world - created as a waste fuel from nuclear reactors but which can potentially be reprocessed into new nuclear fuel.
The warning comes as the Government pushes ahead with a new generation of nuclear power stations in a bid to meet electricity demand and cut carbon emissions from the energy sector.
In a report from the Royal Society, the group of experts said the handling of nuclear fuel throughout its working cycle must be considered to reduce security risks and the danger of proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Research and development programmes are needed from the outset of the new build project to ensure fuel is managed properly, they added.
Roger Cashmore, chairman of the Royal Society working group and head of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, said: "The last time any UK government articulated a coherent long-term plan for nuclear power was in 1955. While the Government has made some positive moves towards an integrated approach to nuclear power, more must be done.
"We need a clearly articulated long-term plan, which also addresses the UK's current reprocessing capacity and the options that it provides in an uncertain future, both for the UK's nuclear power programme and, indeed, a global nuclear renaissance."
The call comes after Energy Secretary Chris Huhne signalled that a new generation of nuclear power plants would go ahead after a Government-ordered review into the Fukushima disaster in Japan found no reason to curtail the use of reactors in the UK.
Prof Cashmore added: "Fukushima has shown that we cannot be complacent about the safety of nuclear power. However, the same principle must apply to nuclear security and non-proliferation. Both governments and the nuclear industry need to seriously reassess their responsibilities in these areas."
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October 12, 2011, 11:04 pm
![Leaders to lock horns over economy]()
Party leaders are set to lock horns over the economy again after gloomy unemployment figures further fuelled concerns about the prospects for recovery.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who stuck defiantly by his deficit-reduction strategy on Wednesday, will visit Scotland and Wales to highlight new business investment.
But his bid to shore up support for his efforts to promote a private sector-led recovery will be countered by fresh demands for a change of course by Ed Miliband.
The Labour leader will launch a "campaign for jobs and growth" after it was announced that 2.57 million people are now out of work in the UK, the most for 17 years.
Both sides of industry expressed concern at the state of the jobs market, with the figures also showing almost a million young people are unemployed. Jobseeker's Allowance claimants increased for the seventh month in a row.
Ministers pinned the blame for the poor state of the jobs market - with unemployment up 114,000 to 2.57 million - on the turbulence in the eurozone.
Optimism of a deal to expand a key bailout fund for the single currency area increased with the news that Slovakian parties had struck a deal to approve the move.
But Mr Miliband pointed instead at domestic failures, saying the thousands more people out of work were proof that the coalition's policies "aren't working".
"I want you to change course so you have a credible plan to get people back to work in this country," he told Mr Cameron in a Commons question time session dominated by the economy. "Month after month, as unemployment goes up, the number of people claiming benefits goes up, the cost goes up and fewer people are in work and paying taxes. To have a credible plan on the deficit, you need a credible plan for growth and you don't have one."
Mr Cameron said that while more effort was required to boost jobs and growth, "we mustn't abandon the plan that has given us record low interest rates. If we change course on reducing our deficit we would end up with interest rates like Portugal, like Spain, like Italy, like Greece, and we'd send our economy into a tailspin."
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October 12, 2011, 11:04 pm
![Digital inheritance added to wills]()
Online users are leaving internet passwords in their wills as Britons amass a £2.3 billion digital inheritance, new research suggests.
A poll of 2,000 adults found 25% had more than £200 worth of films, video and music stored online.
Nearly a third considered the sum valuable enough to be passed on to loved ones and 11% have already put internet passwords in their wills.
Without the passwords being included in wills, billions of pounds' worth of films, music and pictures stored in "cloud" services such as Hotmail, Facebook, iCloud and Flickr would be lost.
The research, by cloud computing company Rackspace, found that 53% of those polled held "treasured possessions" in such services.
A quarter said they had "special photos" stored online, one in 10 had treasured videos and the same number kept sentimental emails from loved ones.
Lawyers described the passing on of valuable passwords as a major change to the traditional way wills have been drawn up.
Matthew Strain, partner at London law firm Strain Keville, said: "With more photos, books, music and so on being stored online and in digital format, the question of what happens to these when people are gone becomes more important every day.
"People have not yet come to grips with the value of these digital possessions and the risk is that they may be lost if the owner dies, or even that their estate may be liable for ongoing subscriptions to online magazines or newspapers, for instance.
The study also revealed 66% relied on cloud computing services every day without realising it. By 2020, a third are expected to store all music online while a quarter said all their photos will be kept online. One in seven also said they would no longer own books and will instead read e-books.
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October 12, 2011, 11:04 pm
![Charity fears for family services]()
Disadvantaged and vulnerable families are at breaking point and services set up to support them are struggling to cope, a charity has warned.
Action for Children said a mix of problems including substance misuse, Government spending cuts and unemployment are leaving thousands who are in urgent need unable to get help.
The charity said it had conducted a year-long investigation "into the social and financial costs" of the coalition's spending decisions.
More than 200 of the charity's frontline staff - who work daily with more than 80,000 of the country's most vulnerable and neglected people - were asked about their experiences.
The survey found 68% of frontline children's services have had cuts to their budgets and over a third (37%) of these services have seen cuts of between 11 this year alone.
In the last three months, 48% of frontline services have reported a "marked rise" in the number of children, young people and families needing a service but unable to access one.
At least 5,000 vulnerable children, young people and families have been identified as needing the services Action for Children provides but are currently not receiving them.
Lesley Stopforth, Action for Children service manager for the North West, said: "It is becoming harder and harder for us to get help to those children and families who so desperately need it in my area.
"We are doing all we can on a reduced budget, and with fewer staff, but we worry about all those families we know about but can't take on right now. The country is in a difficult financial position but our children shouldn't be the ones paying the price."
Action for Children chief executive Dame Clare Tickell said: "The Government must take this opportunity to take stock and ensure that their stated intentions to protect the lives of the most vulnerable children, and the measures taken subsequently, are enough."
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October 12, 2011, 11:04 pm
![Hospitals' elderly care criticised]()
A fifth of NHS hospitals are breaking the law on care of the elderly, according to a new report, with two trusts given prior warnings still leaving patients without intravenous fluids and one incontinent patient left unwashed despite asking for help.
The study, from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), found half of hospitals are failing to provide all-round good nutrition to elderly patients while 40% do not offer dignified care.
Of 100 hospitals investigated in England, 49 were found to have minor, moderate or major concerns about nutritional standards for elderly people.
In two hospitals, Alexandra Hospital (part of the Worcester Acute Hospitals NHS Trust) and Sandwell General Hospital (part of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust), inspectors had major concerns about the way people were fed and given drinks.
Another 15 hospitals resulted in moderate concerns and a further 32 were listed with minor concerns. There were minor concerns about the dignity and respect provided to patients in 28 hospitals while a further 12 were told of moderate concerns in this area.
Overall, one in five hospitals was found to be breaking the law on one or both standards relating to dignity and nutrition. Just under half (45 hospitals out of 100) were fully legally compliant with the standards.
The CQC told how a follow-up unannounced inspection to Alexandra Hospital found its concerns have been addressed and the hospital is now meeting essential standards. However, when CQC inspectors returned to Sandwell General, they found that, although standards on nutrition had improved, people's dignity was not always respected.
The CQC found several "key themes" in hospitals that failed to meet the essential standard on dignity. These included call bells being put out of the reach of patients or not responded to quickly enough, staff speaking to people in a "condescending or dismissive way" and curtains not being closed around beds when personal care such as washing was done.
Those hospitals that failed on the essential standard for nutrition were frequently found not to be providing enough assistance with eating, while some patients had their meals interrupted and others were not taken to wash their hands before meals.
Dame Jo Williams, chair of the CQC, said staff must not prioritise processes over people, adding: "Task-focused care is not person-centred care. Often, what is needed is kindness and compassion, which cost nothing."
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October 13, 2011, 9:23 am
![Export figures raise economic hopes]()
Chancellor George Osborne has received some respite as strong export growth in August signalled a better-balanced economy than previously thought.
The UK's trade in goods deficit fell to a four-month low of £7.8 billion in August as the value of exports rose 1.3% to £25.5 billion, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1998, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The strong growth in exports offset muted gains for imports, which rose 0.3% to £42.6 billion, the ONS added.
Economists said the figures offered hope of overall growth between July and September, but warned fears still persist over prospects for exports looking ahead, given the problems in the debt-laden eurozone.
The improved data comes after the Bank of England unveiled a £75 billion round of emergency support for the economy amid plummeting consumer confidence at home and the weakening global outlook.
Samuel Tombs, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "August's trade data suggest that the economy is considerably better balanced than previously thought and that demand for UK exports has grown despite the intensification of the eurozone debt crisis."
A healthy export trade is key to the Chancellor's hopes for the private sector to keep the economy afloat as he rolls out a package of tough spending cuts in the public sector.
The outlook for exports has been weak in recent months as the ongoing debt crisis in the eurozone - the UK's biggest trade partner - raised fears over the health of several key European economies.
But the ONS figures showed the trade in goods deficit with eurozone members narrowed from £2.4 billion to £1.9 billion, driven by a 4% monthly increase in the value of goods exported to the region.
A spokesman for the Treasury said: "Today's figures show a continued strengthening of the UK's trading position. While the UK cannot isolate itself from the current global economic and financial uncertainty, the Government is creating a new model of economic growth that is driven by investment and exports."
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October 13, 2011, 9:26 am
![Site clearance 'sooner than later']()
Clearance of the UK's largest travellers' site will start "sooner rather than later", Basildon Council has said.
The residents of Dale Farm lost their High Court battle against eviction after trying to block their removal from the controversial site near Basildon, Essex, in three linked applications for judicial review.
The ruling on Wednesday was a victory for Basildon Council chiefs who fought a costly 10-year campaign to clear the site.
Traveller lawyers argued the council's decision earlier this year to take direct action to clear the green belt site of 400 residents, including about 100 children, was in breach of their human rights and unreasonable.
They also said there had been a failure to offer residents suitable alternative accommodation and to take account of vulnerable residents.
But Mr Justice Ouseley ruled they had delayed too long in challenging the council's decision to take direct action against them, and ruled the council's actions were not "disproportionate".
Basildon Council said no steps would be taken to clear the site before Monday.
Leader councillor Tony Ball said it would take some time to put resources that had been "stood down" back in place to complete the clearance safely.
He said they were mindful that the operation had to be carried out in a "safe and dignified manner", adding: "In order for that to happen we cannot cut any corners in our planning for what is still likely to be a particularly difficult operation, especially as the travellers and their supporters are yet again promising to resist.
"So to reiterate, I cannot say when the operation will take place, it will happen when it is safe to do so but it will be sooner rather than later."
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October 13, 2011, 9:26 am
![Get facts first, says PM in Fox row]()
Prime Minster David Cameron has suggested he would be "a weak leader" if he made a decision on Liam Fox's future before the facts about the financial affairs of his close friend and self-styled adviser Adam Werritty had been established.
Mr Werritty will be questioned for a second time by senior civil servants investigating his relationship with Dr Fox, the Defence Secretary, either on Thursday or Friday.
Speaking during a visit to Aberdeen, where he was welcoming BP's announcement of a near £10 billion investment in the UK oil industry, Mr Cameron said: "I think what is right is to allow the Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell to complete his full report. I think we have to be patient and allow him to gather the information, to answer the questions and a judgment can be made.
"But let me repeat again, I think Liam Fox has done a good job in sorting out the defence budget, making sure we've effective in Libya, and clearing up the mess in the MoD left by the last administration."
Mr Cameron was responding to new allegations that wealthy backers of Dr Fox had funded Mr Werritty's work and travel, claims that Labour said have appeared to "blow a hole" in the Defence Secretary's position.
Mr Cameron added: "A strong leader actually recognises you have to take time to get all the information, answer all the questions, and then actually make a decision. A weak leader is someone who jumps at it because of some artificial deadline. Let's get the facts established, and then we'll make a decision."
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "This uncertainty is not good for the country. We've got a distracted Defence Secretary and a distracted Government.
"The questions are mounting about Liam Fox, and the best way of answering those questions is to speedily get on with the report that is being done."
Mr Miliband said Prime Minister David Cameron should have referred the inquiry into Dr Fox's conduct to an independent adviser.
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October 13, 2011, 9:39 am
![Police may get extra curfew powers]()
Police could be given more powers to demand face coverings are removed and to impose curfews to deal with crowds in the wake of this summer's riots under plans being considered by the Home Secretary.
Theresa May will host an international conference on gangs at the Home Office as she launches a consultation to ensure police have the powers they need to tackle disturbances.
The consultation will also consider whether it should remain an offence to use insulting words amid concerns from some MPs that the law is being used by activist groups and over-zealous police officers to undermine free speech.
The proposals to expand the powers available to police were first outlined by the Prime Minister after he recalled Parliament at the height of the riots in August.
David Cameron said he had asked police if they needed any new powers and told MPs: "Specifically on face masks - currently they can only remove these in a specific geographical location and for a limited time.
"So I can announce that we are going to give the police the discretion to remove face coverings under any circumstances where there is reasonable suspicion that they are related to criminal activity. And on dealing with crowds, we are also looking at the use of existing dispersal powers and whether any wider power of curfew is necessary."
Mrs May is understood to have spoken to a series of forces about the powers and the consultation will seek the public's views to ensure that traditional British freedoms are not being compromised by the proposals.
It comes as police representatives and academics from the United States, Jamaica, France, Spain, Sweden and Austria gather at the Home Office for a private meeting at the start of what is hoped will become a lasting international network of experts on gangs.
Isabella Sankey, director of policy for civil rights group Liberty, said: "After years of 'something must be done' legislation, the police are hardly short of coercive powers. We can be stopped, searched and dispersed within an inch of our lives and there should be more questioning of the logic of further measures.
"In a riot situation, wouldn't you rather arrest someone for violence than for failing to remove his mask, arrest him for looting rather than walking down the road after dark?"
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October 13, 2011, 9:39 am
![Miliband calls for emergency budget]()
Ed Miliband has called for the Government to hold an "emergency budget" to help tackle the "economic emergency".
The Labour leader said the coalition needed to show a "greater sense of urgency" to "get our economy moving".
Mr Miliband was speaking alongside shadow chancellor Ed Balls on a visit to the Futures Community College in Southend, Essex.
"We want to guarantee a sound economic future for the young people here," he said. "That's why we're saying to the Government we're worried about the economic situation and they should change course.
"That's why we're saying they should have an emergency budget to get our economy moving. There needs to be a greater sense of urgency from the Government because this is an economic emergency and they need to get on with it."
When asked why he wanted an emergency budget, Mr Miliband told the Press Association: "We see unemployment at its highest level for 17 years, we see youth unemployment hitting nearly a million people.
"Why is the Government just going to wait until the end of November to have its pre-budget report, its autumn statement? Get on with it now and make a difference, get our economy moving and get unemployment down."
Mr Miliband said Labour's five-point economic plan should be the inspiration for new measures. The plan was announced by Mr Balls at last month's party conference and includes cutting VAT and a new tax on bankers' bonuses.
The bonus tax would pay for 25,000 homes and jobs for 100,000 young people, according to Mr Balls.
In the plan, January's VAT cut would be reversed, small firms would receive a one-year national insurance holiday and long-term investment projects such as schools and roads would be brought forward. Mr Balls also proposed a one-year cut in VAT for home improvements and maintenance to 5%.
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October 13, 2011, 9:39 am
![Payne seeks job working for victims]()
The mother of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne has put herself forward as a candidate to replace Louise Casey as Victims' Commissioner.
Sara Payne held the position of Victims' Champion for a year to pave the way for a longer-term appointment of a Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses.
Following Ms Casey's resignation as the first commissioner on Wednesday, Ms Payne has signalled that she wants to fill the post to promote the interests of victims and witnesses.
Ms Payne - whose daughter Sarah was murdered aged eight by Roy Whiting in West Sussex in 2000 - said she would aim to give the post a higher public profile.
But first she said pressure needed to be placed on the Government to keep the position amid reports that the Ministry of Justice was reviewing whether the role should be retained.
Ms Payne, who has battled back from ill health, said: "I'm feeling much stronger now following my stroke and I feel that I'm ready to get back to it.
"I feel that the one thing that Louise Casey could have done better was to be louder. What I think needs to happen now is for a bit of pressure to be put on the Government to keep the position because there is talk about it not being kept."
After 18 months as commissioner, Ms Casey will now head the Government's broad response to the riots in the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
In her resignation letter to Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke, she said she had seen "a glimpse of some of the worst acts of human nature" and also "the very best of human behaviour".
Ms Payne's friend and fellow child welfare campaigner at Phoenix Chief Advocates, Shy Keenan, said: "As we give a respectful nod of thanks for all the work Louise Casey has done in the last 18 months and wish her every success in her new role, we not only hope this crucial post remains, but also that the Ministry of Justice will now reconsider Sara Payne MBE for this position."
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October 13, 2011, 9:39 am
![Jo was dreading weekend, court told]()
Joanna Yeates told friends she was "dreading" spending the weekend alone, hours before she was killed, a court has heard.
Over a drink the 25-year-old confided in a work colleague of her fears of spending Saturday and Sunday without her boyfriend Greg Reardon, who was visiting family in Sheffield.
Jurors at Bristol Crown Court heard that Miss Yeates, who worked as a landscape architect at BDP, told office manager Elizabeth Chandler that she planned to spend the weekend baking.
"Jo told me that she was dreading the weekend because it was the first time she was going to be left on her own," she said in a written statement read to the jury. "Her partner Greg, who I know, was going away."
The court heard that Miss Yeates made the comment as she joined staff from BDP in the Ram pub, in Park Street, Bristol, for a usual Friday night post-work drink on December 17.
Other colleagues who had been in the pub with Miss Yeates that night told the trial of her next-door neighbour Vincent Tabak that she "did not appear in the best of moods" and was "bored", while others said she was her usual "jovial" self.
He was alerted that something might have happened to Miss Yeates when Mr Reardon called him at midnight on the Sunday. Mr Bellew added: "He said he had got back to the flat and found it strange that all Jo's belongings were there."
In a written statement colleague Michael Brown told the court: "I remember texting Jo and betting her 50p that Chris was going to win The Apprentice show on the BBC," he said. "She said she didn't have any plans for the weekend and appeared bored and she planned to do baking."
Mr Brown said he had a joke with Miss Yeates but added: "Jo was not in the best of moods and appeared bored."
Dutch engineer Tabak, 33, admits manslaughter but denies Miss Yeates' murder.
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October 13, 2011, 9:39 am
![BlackBerry users suffer more chaos]()
BlackBerry users will be hoping for an end to days of chaos after the smartphone's maker announced "significant improvement" to its services.
Research in Motion (RIM) - the firm behind the BlackBerry - has attracted widespread anger after continuing problems since Monday left millions of people unable to access email or surf the web.
The company previously insisted it was working "around the clock" to return the service to normal.
In a statement on Thursday morning it said: "From 6am BST today, all services across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as India, have been operating with significant improvement. We continue to monitor the situation 24x7 to ensure ongoing stability. Thank you for your patience."
Apologising for interruptions and delays, RIM's chief information officer Robin Bienfait previously said on the company's website: "You've depended on us for reliable, real-time communications, and right now we're letting you down.
"We are taking this very seriously and have people around the world working around the clock to address this situation. We believe we understand why this happened and we are working to restore normal service levels in all markets as quickly as we can."
It is unclear how many of the 70 million BlackBerry subscribers have been affected by the outage, but many vented their frustrations on Twitter.
One high-profile critic was business mogul Lord Sugar who left a string of postings on the micro-blogging site, eventually insisting: "If it was my company it would have been fixed by now."
Problems with BlackBerry services started at around 11am on Monday.
RIM initially gave the all-clear on Tuesday morning but was later forced to admit in a recorded message that it was experiencing a "service" issue which was having an impact on subscribers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India and several carriers from the Latin America region. The initial hiccup was reportedly caused at the company's UK hub in Slough.
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October 13, 2011, 9:39 am
![Campaigners win incinerator battle]()
Campaigners have won a High Court battle and thrown plans for a £117 million waste incinerator project in the West Country into disarray.
In a judgment with important implications for new waste management schemes nationwide, a judge quashed Communities Secretary Eric Pickles's decision to grant planning permission for the incinerator project at St Dennis in Cornwall.
Mr Justice Collins, sitting at the High Court in London, ruled there had been a failure to properly consider whether the EU Habitats Directive required special assessment to be carried out before permission was granted.
However the judge, because of the general importance of his ruling, gave the Government permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Cornwall Council's decision to refuse planning permission for the project was overturned by the Communities Secretary following an appeal by contractor SITA Cornwall Ltd.
The company says the incinerator will generate enough electricity to supply 21,000 homes by burning 240,000 tons of non-recyclable household waste a year.
Lawyers for SITA said if the project was halted, or delayed, the total cost to council taxpayers from landfill tax and other costs could rise to well in excess of £200 million.
Acknowledging that "enormous" sums were involved, the judge said: "The problem that faces me is that the Habitats Directive and regulations are the law and must be obeyed."
Cornwall Council described the ruling on the proposed incinerator - the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre project - as "extremely disappointing".
The authority said in a statement: "The council will be pressing for an early resolution as further delays will not only extend uncertainty over this process but could prove financially disastrous for people in Cornwall."
"The statement added that the council will be meeting SITA over the next few weeks to identify a series of interim measures to reduce costs and services throughout Cornwall.
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October 13, 2011, 11:27 am
![BlackBerry user problems continue]()
BlackBerry users have been told there is still no end in sight to the disruption to services they have suffered this week.
Research in Motion (RIM) - the firm behind the smartphones - has attracted widespread anger after millions of people were left unable to access email, surf the web or use the BlackBerry Messenger service after problems began on Monday.
But despite apparent improvements to the service, RIM's founder and co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis said that he could not yet give an estimated time of full recovery to BlackBerry's service.
Speaking in a video posted on YouTube, Mr Lazaridis said: "I'd like to give you an estimated time of full recovery around the world, but I cannot do this with certainty at this time.
"For those of you affected I know this is very frustrating. We're doing everything in our power to restore regular service levels and we're working tirelessly to restore your trust in us."
The company had already previously insisted it was working "around the clock" to return the service to normal and that there had been "significant" improvements.
In a statement on Thursday morning it said: "From 6am BST today, all services across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as India, have been operating with significant improvement. We continue to monitor the situation 24/7 to ensure ongoing stability. Thank you for your patience."
Problems with BlackBerry services started at around 11am on Monday. RIM initially gave the all-clear on Tuesday morning but was later forced to admit in a recorded message that it was experiencing a "service" issue which was having an impact on subscribers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India and several carriers from the Latin America region.
The initial hiccup was reportedly caused at the company's UK hub in Slough. On Tuesday night, RIM attributed its problems to a "core switch failure" within its infrastructure and assured users it was working to clear a "large backlog" of data.
In a press conference on Wednesday night, RIM's chief technology officer David Yach confirmed the initial switch failure happened at one of the company's European sites but refused to be drawn on the precise location or the total number of people who may have encountered problems.
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October 13, 2011, 11:27 am
![Navy medic 'objector' loses appeal]()
A Royal Navy medic found guilty of disobeying a lawful command by refusing to attend rifle training because of his "moral objection" to bearing arms and the war in Afghanistan has lost his appeal against conviction.
Three judges at the Court of Appeal in London rejected a challenge by Michael Lyons, who is serving seven months' detention at a military correction facility in Colchester, Essex.
Lyons, 25, from Plymouth, Devon, who was sentenced in July, had denied the offence at a court martial at Portsmouth Naval Base in Hampshire.
The leading medical assistant was also demoted to the rank of able seaman and dismissed from the service.
He was present in court to hear Lord Justice Toulson, sitting with Mr Justice Openshaw and Mr Justice Hickinbottom, throw out his conviction appeal.
They also dismissed his appeal against his "manifestly excessive" sentence. The court heard that Lyons has four weeks left to serve.
Reasons for the decision will be given in writing on a date to be fixed.
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October 13, 2011, 1:36 pm
![BlackBerry services 'restored']()
BlackBerry services have finally been fully restored after more than three days of disruption.
Research in Motion (RIM) - the firm behind the smartphones - has attracted widespread anger after millions of people were left unable to access email, surf the web or use the BlackBerry Messenger service after problems began on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference broadcast online, RIM's founder and co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis announced that the problems had been solved and said he was sorry.
Mr Lazaridis said: "I want to apologise to all the BlackBerry customers we have let down. You expect better of us, I expect better of us. Our inability to quickly fix this has been frustrating.
"We will take every action feasible to address this quickly and efficiently to minimise the risk of something of this magnitude happening again."
Analysing what had gone wrong, Mr Lazaridis told the press conference the disruption had been down to a hardware failure on Monday which caused a "ripple effect" in RIM's system.
He said: "A dual redundant high capacity course switch designed to protect the infrastructure failed. It caused outages and delays for some customers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. This caused a cascade failure in our system.
"There was a back-up switch but the back-up didn't function as intended and this led to backlog of data in the system."
RIM is now inspecting its infrastructure in a "root cause analysis" to uncover why the system took longer to restore than expected. Reports that the initial hiccup was caused at the company's UK hub in Slough remain unconfirmed, although RIM has said the failure originated in Europe.
Co-chief executive Jim Balsillie, speaking at the same press conference, denied that mobile phone companies who work with BlackBerry would be seeking compensation for the disruption.
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Thousands of people may be dying unnecessarily in an NHS that "is too centralised, overly-managed by politicians and is too insulated from competition", a lobby group has said.
Analysis of mortality figures by the TaxPayers' Alliance suggests almost 12,000 extra deaths occurred in the UK in 2008 than would have been the case if the UK had matched the average rates for several European countries.
It said healthcare in Britain fails to match up to the standards of its European neighbours "not because it is underfunded".
In a foreword to the report, Nick Bosanquet, professor of health policy at Imperial College London and chairman of a private consultancy firm, said: "In this latest review the UK rate of mortality amenable to healthcare in 2008 was 33% higher than the average rate of the Netherlands, France and Spain leading to 11,749 more deaths.
"Such evidence does not affect deep emotional loyalty but it should surely prevent the kind of uncritical endorsement of the current system which we have heard so much of from the British Medical Association. They are uncritically endorsing a system which is not delivering rather than showing any sense of urgency in seeking explanations."
Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Billions of pounds have been thrown at the NHS but the additional spending has made no discernable difference to the long-term pattern of falling mortality. This is a colossal waste of lives and money.
"We need to learn lessons from European countries with healthcare systems that don't suffer from the same degree of political management, monopolistic provision and centralisation."
Health minister Simon Burns said: "This is exactly why we need to modernise the NHS; to improve results for patients, and deliver a world-class health service. The principles of our modernisation plans - patient power, clinical leadership, and a focus on reducing bureaucracy and waste to make every penny count - will help drive up standards to match the best in Europe."
A spokesman for the BMA said: "Comparing different healthcare systems meaningfully is always difficult. However, it's worth noting that a recent in-depth study of healthcare in seven industrialised countries ranked the UK's system as the most efficient, and also rated it highly on quality and access."
"Of course, the NHS should not be immune from criticism, and should always be seeking to improve. However, there is little or no evidence to support the Taxpayers' Alliance's call for more competition."
Lawyers for the widow of murdered Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko are to call for a detailed inquest to be held into his death.
Marina Litvinenko's legal team will urge St Pancras coroner Dr Andrew Reid to hold an in-depth investigation into how the former KGB agent came to die of radioactive polonium-210 poisoning in a London hospital nearly five years ago.
Scotland Yard is expected to argue in favour of a more limited inquest to avoid prejudicing any future criminal trial of those responsible for the murder. The hearing will also consider whether the inquest should be chaired by a High Court judge and heard by a jury, according to the murdered dissident's friend Alex Goldfarb.
Mr Litvinenko, 43, fell ill shortly after drinking tea during a meeting at a West End hotel with former KGB contacts and died in London's University College Hospital on November 23 2006.
British prosecutors named fellow ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoy as the main suspect in his murder, but the Russian authorities have repeatedly refused to send him to face trial in the UK.
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev insisted during a visit to Moscow by Prime Minister David Cameron last month that Mr Lugovoy - now a Russian MP - would never be extradited to Britain.
Mr Goldfarb, who has campaigned for Mr Litvinenko's killers to be brought to justice, said holding a detailed inquest was important both to uncover the truth and to protect the public. "Apart from Mr Litvinenko's death, we have an act of radiological terrorism committed in the centre of London, where hundreds of people, if not thousands, were put at risk," he said. "From the standpoint of public safety it is a very serious matter of public safety and should be explored in depth."
He added: "The police told us directly that they are opposing the (in-depth) inquest for the reason that they want to apprehend Mr Lugovoy. They think that this will either be prejudicial to a criminal trial or it will expose their evidence and witnesses.
"Legally, that doesn't stand up. The inquest does not preclude a criminal trial, which is totally unrealistic because Mr Medvedev told Mr Cameron directly earlier this month that Mr Lugovoy will never be extradited."
A spokesman for the coroner said the pre-inquest review was due to be very short and would focus on legal issues.
The 50p top rate should be scrapped and corporation tax cut to breathe new life into the British economy, according to a think-tank.
The Centre for Policy Studies is also calling for employers' national insurance contributions to be reduced and the tax-free personal allowance to be increased by £500.
The £14 billion package could be largely funded by holding international aid spending at 2010-11 levels, abolishing differential rates of pension tax relief for higher earners, and ending the 25% tax-free entitlement on pension lump sums.
The remaining £3.6 billion would come from abolishing "contracting out" of the state second pension, according to the CPS.
The pamphlet admits that polling by ComRes suggests the majority of people oppose abandoning the 50p rate.
However, it claims the move would enjoy significant support when combined with an increase in the personal allowance.
CPS director Tim Knox said: "Today's low growth rates threaten the coalition's ambitions to eliminate the deficit.
"Fast action is needed now. Cutting tax on enterprise will give the best boost to the economy."
The Government must establish long-term plans for a new generation of nuclear power plants so future generations are not left dealing with its legacy, experts have urged.
Ministers must work with the industry to create a "holistic" strategy which deals effectively with reprocessing and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and does not treat it simply as "an afterthought", they warned.
The new build programme must also take into account the UK's stockpile of civil plutonium - the largest in the world - created as a waste fuel from nuclear reactors but which can potentially be reprocessed into new nuclear fuel.
The warning comes as the Government pushes ahead with a new generation of nuclear power stations in a bid to meet electricity demand and cut carbon emissions from the energy sector.
In a report from the Royal Society, the group of experts said the handling of nuclear fuel throughout its working cycle must be considered to reduce security risks and the danger of proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Research and development programmes are needed from the outset of the new build project to ensure fuel is managed properly, they added.
Roger Cashmore, chairman of the Royal Society working group and head of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, said: "The last time any UK government articulated a coherent long-term plan for nuclear power was in 1955. While the Government has made some positive moves towards an integrated approach to nuclear power, more must be done.
"We need a clearly articulated long-term plan, which also addresses the UK's current reprocessing capacity and the options that it provides in an uncertain future, both for the UK's nuclear power programme and, indeed, a global nuclear renaissance."
The call comes after Energy Secretary Chris Huhne signalled that a new generation of nuclear power plants would go ahead after a Government-ordered review into the Fukushima disaster in Japan found no reason to curtail the use of reactors in the UK.
Prof Cashmore added: "Fukushima has shown that we cannot be complacent about the safety of nuclear power. However, the same principle must apply to nuclear security and non-proliferation. Both governments and the nuclear industry need to seriously reassess their responsibilities in these areas."
Party leaders are set to lock horns over the economy again after gloomy unemployment figures further fuelled concerns about the prospects for recovery.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who stuck defiantly by his deficit-reduction strategy on Wednesday, will visit Scotland and Wales to highlight new business investment.
But his bid to shore up support for his efforts to promote a private sector-led recovery will be countered by fresh demands for a change of course by Ed Miliband.
The Labour leader will launch a "campaign for jobs and growth" after it was announced that 2.57 million people are now out of work in the UK, the most for 17 years.
Both sides of industry expressed concern at the state of the jobs market, with the figures also showing almost a million young people are unemployed. Jobseeker's Allowance claimants increased for the seventh month in a row.
Ministers pinned the blame for the poor state of the jobs market - with unemployment up 114,000 to 2.57 million - on the turbulence in the eurozone.
Optimism of a deal to expand a key bailout fund for the single currency area increased with the news that Slovakian parties had struck a deal to approve the move.
But Mr Miliband pointed instead at domestic failures, saying the thousands more people out of work were proof that the coalition's policies "aren't working".
"I want you to change course so you have a credible plan to get people back to work in this country," he told Mr Cameron in a Commons question time session dominated by the economy. "Month after month, as unemployment goes up, the number of people claiming benefits goes up, the cost goes up and fewer people are in work and paying taxes. To have a credible plan on the deficit, you need a credible plan for growth and you don't have one."
Mr Cameron said that while more effort was required to boost jobs and growth, "we mustn't abandon the plan that has given us record low interest rates. If we change course on reducing our deficit we would end up with interest rates like Portugal, like Spain, like Italy, like Greece, and we'd send our economy into a tailspin."
Online users are leaving internet passwords in their wills as Britons amass a £2.3 billion digital inheritance, new research suggests.
A poll of 2,000 adults found 25% had more than £200 worth of films, video and music stored online.
Nearly a third considered the sum valuable enough to be passed on to loved ones and 11% have already put internet passwords in their wills.
Without the passwords being included in wills, billions of pounds' worth of films, music and pictures stored in "cloud" services such as Hotmail, Facebook, iCloud and Flickr would be lost.
The research, by cloud computing company Rackspace, found that 53% of those polled held "treasured possessions" in such services.
A quarter said they had "special photos" stored online, one in 10 had treasured videos and the same number kept sentimental emails from loved ones.
Lawyers described the passing on of valuable passwords as a major change to the traditional way wills have been drawn up.
Matthew Strain, partner at London law firm Strain Keville, said: "With more photos, books, music and so on being stored online and in digital format, the question of what happens to these when people are gone becomes more important every day.
"People have not yet come to grips with the value of these digital possessions and the risk is that they may be lost if the owner dies, or even that their estate may be liable for ongoing subscriptions to online magazines or newspapers, for instance.
The study also revealed 66% relied on cloud computing services every day without realising it. By 2020, a third are expected to store all music online while a quarter said all their photos will be kept online. One in seven also said they would no longer own books and will instead read e-books.
Disadvantaged and vulnerable families are at breaking point and services set up to support them are struggling to cope, a charity has warned.
Action for Children said a mix of problems including substance misuse, Government spending cuts and unemployment are leaving thousands who are in urgent need unable to get help.
The charity said it had conducted a year-long investigation "into the social and financial costs" of the coalition's spending decisions.
More than 200 of the charity's frontline staff - who work daily with more than 80,000 of the country's most vulnerable and neglected people - were asked about their experiences.
The survey found 68% of frontline children's services have had cuts to their budgets and over a third (37%) of these services have seen cuts of between 11 this year alone.
In the last three months, 48% of frontline services have reported a "marked rise" in the number of children, young people and families needing a service but unable to access one.
At least 5,000 vulnerable children, young people and families have been identified as needing the services Action for Children provides but are currently not receiving them.
Lesley Stopforth, Action for Children service manager for the North West, said: "It is becoming harder and harder for us to get help to those children and families who so desperately need it in my area.
"We are doing all we can on a reduced budget, and with fewer staff, but we worry about all those families we know about but can't take on right now. The country is in a difficult financial position but our children shouldn't be the ones paying the price."
Action for Children chief executive Dame Clare Tickell said: "The Government must take this opportunity to take stock and ensure that their stated intentions to protect the lives of the most vulnerable children, and the measures taken subsequently, are enough."
A fifth of NHS hospitals are breaking the law on care of the elderly, according to a new report, with two trusts given prior warnings still leaving patients without intravenous fluids and one incontinent patient left unwashed despite asking for help.
The study, from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), found half of hospitals are failing to provide all-round good nutrition to elderly patients while 40% do not offer dignified care.
Of 100 hospitals investigated in England, 49 were found to have minor, moderate or major concerns about nutritional standards for elderly people.
In two hospitals, Alexandra Hospital (part of the Worcester Acute Hospitals NHS Trust) and Sandwell General Hospital (part of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust), inspectors had major concerns about the way people were fed and given drinks.
Another 15 hospitals resulted in moderate concerns and a further 32 were listed with minor concerns. There were minor concerns about the dignity and respect provided to patients in 28 hospitals while a further 12 were told of moderate concerns in this area.
Overall, one in five hospitals was found to be breaking the law on one or both standards relating to dignity and nutrition. Just under half (45 hospitals out of 100) were fully legally compliant with the standards.
The CQC told how a follow-up unannounced inspection to Alexandra Hospital found its concerns have been addressed and the hospital is now meeting essential standards. However, when CQC inspectors returned to Sandwell General, they found that, although standards on nutrition had improved, people's dignity was not always respected.
The CQC found several "key themes" in hospitals that failed to meet the essential standard on dignity. These included call bells being put out of the reach of patients or not responded to quickly enough, staff speaking to people in a "condescending or dismissive way" and curtains not being closed around beds when personal care such as washing was done.
Those hospitals that failed on the essential standard for nutrition were frequently found not to be providing enough assistance with eating, while some patients had their meals interrupted and others were not taken to wash their hands before meals.
Dame Jo Williams, chair of the CQC, said staff must not prioritise processes over people, adding: "Task-focused care is not person-centred care. Often, what is needed is kindness and compassion, which cost nothing."
Chancellor George Osborne has received some respite as strong export growth in August signalled a better-balanced economy than previously thought.
The UK's trade in goods deficit fell to a four-month low of £7.8 billion in August as the value of exports rose 1.3% to £25.5 billion, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1998, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The strong growth in exports offset muted gains for imports, which rose 0.3% to £42.6 billion, the ONS added.
Economists said the figures offered hope of overall growth between July and September, but warned fears still persist over prospects for exports looking ahead, given the problems in the debt-laden eurozone.
The improved data comes after the Bank of England unveiled a £75 billion round of emergency support for the economy amid plummeting consumer confidence at home and the weakening global outlook.
Samuel Tombs, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "August's trade data suggest that the economy is considerably better balanced than previously thought and that demand for UK exports has grown despite the intensification of the eurozone debt crisis."
A healthy export trade is key to the Chancellor's hopes for the private sector to keep the economy afloat as he rolls out a package of tough spending cuts in the public sector.
The outlook for exports has been weak in recent months as the ongoing debt crisis in the eurozone - the UK's biggest trade partner - raised fears over the health of several key European economies.
But the ONS figures showed the trade in goods deficit with eurozone members narrowed from £2.4 billion to £1.9 billion, driven by a 4% monthly increase in the value of goods exported to the region.
A spokesman for the Treasury said: "Today's figures show a continued strengthening of the UK's trading position. While the UK cannot isolate itself from the current global economic and financial uncertainty, the Government is creating a new model of economic growth that is driven by investment and exports."
Clearance of the UK's largest travellers' site will start "sooner rather than later", Basildon Council has said.
The residents of Dale Farm lost their High Court battle against eviction after trying to block their removal from the controversial site near Basildon, Essex, in three linked applications for judicial review.
The ruling on Wednesday was a victory for Basildon Council chiefs who fought a costly 10-year campaign to clear the site.
Traveller lawyers argued the council's decision earlier this year to take direct action to clear the green belt site of 400 residents, including about 100 children, was in breach of their human rights and unreasonable.
They also said there had been a failure to offer residents suitable alternative accommodation and to take account of vulnerable residents.
But Mr Justice Ouseley ruled they had delayed too long in challenging the council's decision to take direct action against them, and ruled the council's actions were not "disproportionate".
Basildon Council said no steps would be taken to clear the site before Monday.
Leader councillor Tony Ball said it would take some time to put resources that had been "stood down" back in place to complete the clearance safely.
He said they were mindful that the operation had to be carried out in a "safe and dignified manner", adding: "In order for that to happen we cannot cut any corners in our planning for what is still likely to be a particularly difficult operation, especially as the travellers and their supporters are yet again promising to resist.
"So to reiterate, I cannot say when the operation will take place, it will happen when it is safe to do so but it will be sooner rather than later."
Prime Minster David Cameron has suggested he would be "a weak leader" if he made a decision on Liam Fox's future before the facts about the financial affairs of his close friend and self-styled adviser Adam Werritty had been established.
Mr Werritty will be questioned for a second time by senior civil servants investigating his relationship with Dr Fox, the Defence Secretary, either on Thursday or Friday.
Speaking during a visit to Aberdeen, where he was welcoming BP's announcement of a near £10 billion investment in the UK oil industry, Mr Cameron said: "I think what is right is to allow the Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell to complete his full report. I think we have to be patient and allow him to gather the information, to answer the questions and a judgment can be made.
"But let me repeat again, I think Liam Fox has done a good job in sorting out the defence budget, making sure we've effective in Libya, and clearing up the mess in the MoD left by the last administration."
Mr Cameron was responding to new allegations that wealthy backers of Dr Fox had funded Mr Werritty's work and travel, claims that Labour said have appeared to "blow a hole" in the Defence Secretary's position.
Mr Cameron added: "A strong leader actually recognises you have to take time to get all the information, answer all the questions, and then actually make a decision. A weak leader is someone who jumps at it because of some artificial deadline. Let's get the facts established, and then we'll make a decision."
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "This uncertainty is not good for the country. We've got a distracted Defence Secretary and a distracted Government.
"The questions are mounting about Liam Fox, and the best way of answering those questions is to speedily get on with the report that is being done."
Mr Miliband said Prime Minister David Cameron should have referred the inquiry into Dr Fox's conduct to an independent adviser.
Police could be given more powers to demand face coverings are removed and to impose curfews to deal with crowds in the wake of this summer's riots under plans being considered by the Home Secretary.
Theresa May will host an international conference on gangs at the Home Office as she launches a consultation to ensure police have the powers they need to tackle disturbances.
The consultation will also consider whether it should remain an offence to use insulting words amid concerns from some MPs that the law is being used by activist groups and over-zealous police officers to undermine free speech.
The proposals to expand the powers available to police were first outlined by the Prime Minister after he recalled Parliament at the height of the riots in August.
David Cameron said he had asked police if they needed any new powers and told MPs: "Specifically on face masks - currently they can only remove these in a specific geographical location and for a limited time.
"So I can announce that we are going to give the police the discretion to remove face coverings under any circumstances where there is reasonable suspicion that they are related to criminal activity. And on dealing with crowds, we are also looking at the use of existing dispersal powers and whether any wider power of curfew is necessary."
Mrs May is understood to have spoken to a series of forces about the powers and the consultation will seek the public's views to ensure that traditional British freedoms are not being compromised by the proposals.
It comes as police representatives and academics from the United States, Jamaica, France, Spain, Sweden and Austria gather at the Home Office for a private meeting at the start of what is hoped will become a lasting international network of experts on gangs.
Isabella Sankey, director of policy for civil rights group Liberty, said: "After years of 'something must be done' legislation, the police are hardly short of coercive powers. We can be stopped, searched and dispersed within an inch of our lives and there should be more questioning of the logic of further measures.
"In a riot situation, wouldn't you rather arrest someone for violence than for failing to remove his mask, arrest him for looting rather than walking down the road after dark?"
Ed Miliband has called for the Government to hold an "emergency budget" to help tackle the "economic emergency".
The Labour leader said the coalition needed to show a "greater sense of urgency" to "get our economy moving".
Mr Miliband was speaking alongside shadow chancellor Ed Balls on a visit to the Futures Community College in Southend, Essex.
"We want to guarantee a sound economic future for the young people here," he said. "That's why we're saying to the Government we're worried about the economic situation and they should change course.
"That's why we're saying they should have an emergency budget to get our economy moving. There needs to be a greater sense of urgency from the Government because this is an economic emergency and they need to get on with it."
When asked why he wanted an emergency budget, Mr Miliband told the Press Association: "We see unemployment at its highest level for 17 years, we see youth unemployment hitting nearly a million people.
"Why is the Government just going to wait until the end of November to have its pre-budget report, its autumn statement? Get on with it now and make a difference, get our economy moving and get unemployment down."
Mr Miliband said Labour's five-point economic plan should be the inspiration for new measures. The plan was announced by Mr Balls at last month's party conference and includes cutting VAT and a new tax on bankers' bonuses.
The bonus tax would pay for 25,000 homes and jobs for 100,000 young people, according to Mr Balls.
In the plan, January's VAT cut would be reversed, small firms would receive a one-year national insurance holiday and long-term investment projects such as schools and roads would be brought forward. Mr Balls also proposed a one-year cut in VAT for home improvements and maintenance to 5%.
The mother of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne has put herself forward as a candidate to replace Louise Casey as Victims' Commissioner.
Sara Payne held the position of Victims' Champion for a year to pave the way for a longer-term appointment of a Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses.
Following Ms Casey's resignation as the first commissioner on Wednesday, Ms Payne has signalled that she wants to fill the post to promote the interests of victims and witnesses.
Ms Payne - whose daughter Sarah was murdered aged eight by Roy Whiting in West Sussex in 2000 - said she would aim to give the post a higher public profile.
But first she said pressure needed to be placed on the Government to keep the position amid reports that the Ministry of Justice was reviewing whether the role should be retained.
Ms Payne, who has battled back from ill health, said: "I'm feeling much stronger now following my stroke and I feel that I'm ready to get back to it.
"I feel that the one thing that Louise Casey could have done better was to be louder. What I think needs to happen now is for a bit of pressure to be put on the Government to keep the position because there is talk about it not being kept."
After 18 months as commissioner, Ms Casey will now head the Government's broad response to the riots in the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
In her resignation letter to Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke, she said she had seen "a glimpse of some of the worst acts of human nature" and also "the very best of human behaviour".
Ms Payne's friend and fellow child welfare campaigner at Phoenix Chief Advocates, Shy Keenan, said: "As we give a respectful nod of thanks for all the work Louise Casey has done in the last 18 months and wish her every success in her new role, we not only hope this crucial post remains, but also that the Ministry of Justice will now reconsider Sara Payne MBE for this position."
Joanna Yeates told friends she was "dreading" spending the weekend alone, hours before she was killed, a court has heard.
Over a drink the 25-year-old confided in a work colleague of her fears of spending Saturday and Sunday without her boyfriend Greg Reardon, who was visiting family in Sheffield.
Jurors at Bristol Crown Court heard that Miss Yeates, who worked as a landscape architect at BDP, told office manager Elizabeth Chandler that she planned to spend the weekend baking.
"Jo told me that she was dreading the weekend because it was the first time she was going to be left on her own," she said in a written statement read to the jury. "Her partner Greg, who I know, was going away."
The court heard that Miss Yeates made the comment as she joined staff from BDP in the Ram pub, in Park Street, Bristol, for a usual Friday night post-work drink on December 17.
Other colleagues who had been in the pub with Miss Yeates that night told the trial of her next-door neighbour Vincent Tabak that she "did not appear in the best of moods" and was "bored", while others said she was her usual "jovial" self.
He was alerted that something might have happened to Miss Yeates when Mr Reardon called him at midnight on the Sunday. Mr Bellew added: "He said he had got back to the flat and found it strange that all Jo's belongings were there."
In a written statement colleague Michael Brown told the court: "I remember texting Jo and betting her 50p that Chris was going to win The Apprentice show on the BBC," he said. "She said she didn't have any plans for the weekend and appeared bored and she planned to do baking."
Mr Brown said he had a joke with Miss Yeates but added: "Jo was not in the best of moods and appeared bored."
Dutch engineer Tabak, 33, admits manslaughter but denies Miss Yeates' murder.
BlackBerry users will be hoping for an end to days of chaos after the smartphone's maker announced "significant improvement" to its services.
Research in Motion (RIM) - the firm behind the BlackBerry - has attracted widespread anger after continuing problems since Monday left millions of people unable to access email or surf the web.
The company previously insisted it was working "around the clock" to return the service to normal.
In a statement on Thursday morning it said: "From 6am BST today, all services across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as India, have been operating with significant improvement. We continue to monitor the situation 24x7 to ensure ongoing stability. Thank you for your patience."
Apologising for interruptions and delays, RIM's chief information officer Robin Bienfait previously said on the company's website: "You've depended on us for reliable, real-time communications, and right now we're letting you down.
"We are taking this very seriously and have people around the world working around the clock to address this situation. We believe we understand why this happened and we are working to restore normal service levels in all markets as quickly as we can."
It is unclear how many of the 70 million BlackBerry subscribers have been affected by the outage, but many vented their frustrations on Twitter.
One high-profile critic was business mogul Lord Sugar who left a string of postings on the micro-blogging site, eventually insisting: "If it was my company it would have been fixed by now."
Problems with BlackBerry services started at around 11am on Monday.
RIM initially gave the all-clear on Tuesday morning but was later forced to admit in a recorded message that it was experiencing a "service" issue which was having an impact on subscribers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India and several carriers from the Latin America region. The initial hiccup was reportedly caused at the company's UK hub in Slough.
Campaigners have won a High Court battle and thrown plans for a £117 million waste incinerator project in the West Country into disarray.
In a judgment with important implications for new waste management schemes nationwide, a judge quashed Communities Secretary Eric Pickles's decision to grant planning permission for the incinerator project at St Dennis in Cornwall.
Mr Justice Collins, sitting at the High Court in London, ruled there had been a failure to properly consider whether the EU Habitats Directive required special assessment to be carried out before permission was granted.
However the judge, because of the general importance of his ruling, gave the Government permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Cornwall Council's decision to refuse planning permission for the project was overturned by the Communities Secretary following an appeal by contractor SITA Cornwall Ltd.
The company says the incinerator will generate enough electricity to supply 21,000 homes by burning 240,000 tons of non-recyclable household waste a year.
Lawyers for SITA said if the project was halted, or delayed, the total cost to council taxpayers from landfill tax and other costs could rise to well in excess of £200 million.
Acknowledging that "enormous" sums were involved, the judge said: "The problem that faces me is that the Habitats Directive and regulations are the law and must be obeyed."
Cornwall Council described the ruling on the proposed incinerator - the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre project - as "extremely disappointing".
The authority said in a statement: "The council will be pressing for an early resolution as further delays will not only extend uncertainty over this process but could prove financially disastrous for people in Cornwall."
"The statement added that the council will be meeting SITA over the next few weeks to identify a series of interim measures to reduce costs and services throughout Cornwall.
A Royal Navy medic found guilty of disobeying a lawful command by refusing to attend rifle training because of his "moral objection" to bearing arms and the war in Afghanistan has lost his appeal against conviction.
Three judges at the Court of Appeal in London rejected a challenge by Michael Lyons, who is serving seven months' detention at a military correction facility in Colchester, Essex.
Lyons, 25, from Plymouth, Devon, who was sentenced in July, had denied the offence at a court martial at Portsmouth Naval Base in Hampshire.
The leading medical assistant was also demoted to the rank of able seaman and dismissed from the service.
He was present in court to hear Lord Justice Toulson, sitting with Mr Justice Openshaw and Mr Justice Hickinbottom, throw out his conviction appeal.
They also dismissed his appeal against his "manifestly excessive" sentence. The court heard that Lyons has four weeks left to serve.
Reasons for the decision will be given in writing on a date to be fixed.
