September 12, 2010, 6:59 am
![Image]( "Anger over '£2.5bn welfare cuts'")
Welfare cuts have come under renewed fire from disability charities as the Government tried to play down reports that it plans a £2.5 billion slashing of sickness benefit.
Critics accused the Tory-Lib Dem coalition of targeting the most vulnerable in its quest to find drastic savings in public spending to tackle the UK's record deficit.
Chancellor George Osborne signalled last week that he wanted to shave an extra £4 billion from the bill for state help - on top of £11 billion cuts made in June's emergency Budget.
He gave no details of where the axe would fall, but a letter leaked to the Observer showed that in June he had agreed a deal to reduce the Employment and Support Allowance by £2.5 billion.
Labour said cuts on that scale to the replacement for Incapacity Benefit could only be made by taking cash from the genuinely sick and disabled in what it dubbed "vicious cuts on the poorest", while disability charity Scope said it would put a "vital lifeline" at risk.
But Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said things had "moved on" since the letter was written - part of hard-fought negotiations with Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith.
While Labour had left the Government with no choice but to make "significant" cuts in benefits to balance the books, they would be made in a "fair" way, he told Sky News.
Scope chief executive Richard Hawkes said: "The Government's promise to ensure fairness in the budget cuts is undermined by the revelation of its plans to cut £2.5 billion of support to disabled people.
"This highlights the critical need for the Government to undertake a full impact assessment to ensure that it is not the most vulnerable people that are hit the hardest by the cuts.
"Claiming employment and support allowance is not a 'lifestyle choice' for disabled people, but a crucial lifeline that enables them to participate in society."
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September 13, 2010, 6:12 am
![Image]( "Three charged over golf course body")
Three men have been remanded in custody when they appeared in court charged in connection with the murder of a man whose badly-burnt body was found on a golf course.
Stefan Welch, 37, was discovered by golfers as they walked between the 17th and 18th holes at Dyke Golf Club on the outskirts of Brighton just before noon on September 4.
He probably died from a blow to the head, a post-mortem examination found.
Sean Cirus Iran, 21, of St Richards Road, Portslade, Brighton, is charged with the murder of Mr Welch.
He was also charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice along with Babak Iran, 44, and Navid Iran, 23, of the same address.
Mr Welch, who lived at the Phase One hostel in Oriental Place, Brighton, was known to police and was identified after a DNA sample provided a match on the national database.
The three charged men will next appear at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday, a spokesman for Sussex Police said.
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September 13, 2010, 6:12 am
![Image]( "MP in phone-hacking legal move")
Shadow foreign minister Chris Bryant has officially issued judicial review proceedings over the newspaper phone-hacking row.
Lawyers representing the Labour MP, former Scotland Yard deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick and journalist Brendan Montague have asked the courts to decide whether police handled the case properly.
The News of the World's ex-royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glen Mulcaire were jailed in 2007 after accessing the voicemails of public figures.
Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson - the paper's editor at the time - has found himself at the centre of fresh controversy recently amid claims he was aware that such practices were widespread among his reporters.
Mr Coulson has repeatedly denied any knowledge of such activities, and the Metropolitan Police has insisted it carried out a thorough probe.
Confirming the widely expected judicial review move, Tamsin Allen, a partner at law firm Bindmans LLP, said: "Our clients have still not been told the whole story about how their names came to be in the papers seized during the phone hacking investigation in 2006 and why they were not warned that their privacy might have been compromised.
"The court will now determine whether or not the Metropolitan Police breached its public law and human rights obligations in the way it handled this investigation and its aftermath.
"We expect being in a position shortly to announce the names of at least two others in a similar position who will join these proceedings in due course."
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September 13, 2010, 6:12 am
![Image]( "PM meets Battle of Britain heroes")
Prime Minister David Cameron has met heroes of the Battle of Britain at the start of a week of commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the RAF's historic struggle with Germany's Luftwaffe.
The event in central London was Mr Cameron's first public engagement since the death of his father Ian last week.
He told the veterans and their wives how his father, who was born with stunted legs, had always been proud of meeting flying ace Douglas Bader, who lost his legs in an air accident and encouraged him to make the most of his life despite his disability.
Mr Cameron welcomed a full-size replica of a Spitfire fighter plane of the kind which took part in the Battle, which will be positioned outside the Ministry of Defence building on Whitehall throughout the week.
He met four of the people wartime PM Sir Winston Churchill called "the few": Spitfire pilots Geoffrey Wellum, 89, from Cornwall, and William Walker, 97, from west London; Hurricane pilot Bob Foster, 90, from St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex; and Blenheim gunner Owen Burns, 94, from west London.
They also met current Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton and Defence Secretary Liam Fox.
Flight Lieutenant Walker recalled how he flew Spitfires as a pilot officer in the RAF from May until August 1940, when he was shot by a Luftwaffe Messerschmitt 109 and had to bail out into the Channel, where he was rescued by a fishing boat.
"It is a very proud day," said Flt Lt Walker. "It is nice that people remember us. It's very satisfying. People must always remember what happened. You and I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for those men."
About 2,900 RAF aircrew took part in the Battle of Britain, which raged in the skies of the south of England from July 10 and October 31 1940, and almost 550 were killed. The Battle marked a decisive turning point in the war, halting Adolf Hitler's plans for an invasion of Britain.
The plane positioned on Whitehall is a replica 41 (F) Squadron Supermarine Spitfire Mk I of the kind which flew in 1940.
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September 13, 2010, 6:24 am
![Image]( "Coalition urged to agree poll pact")
David Cameron and Nick Clegg are facing calls to bind their two parties together in a formal electoral pact.
Tory backbencher Nick Boles warned that unless a deal was agreed, the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition could crack under the pressure as it pushed through unpopular spending cuts.
Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes has previously ruled out any new pact with the Conservatives, insisting that the party would "take on all-comers" at the next general election, due in 2015.
However, Mr Boles, a leading Tory moderniser and a close ally of Mr Cameron, said it made sense for the two parties to fight the election together as they would be defending the same record in government.
"The Government is going to come under enormous pressure over the next few months and years. There are lots of MPs in marginal seats who are going to be facing pretty grim prospects," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
"I think that it is really important that we agree this pact before the cuts start coming home, because if we wait until then it will probably be too late. I am worried that the pressure that the coalition will come under could actually drive it apart.
"An electoral pact would make an enormous difference in making sure that every backbench MP, however small their majority, whether Lib Dem or Tory, has an interest in sticking with the coalition until the election in 2015."
Mr Boles said he believed the Conservatives should agree not to put up candidates in Lib Dem-held constituencies, while the Lib Dems should not field candidates in Tory-held seats.
"The Labour Party would find it very, very difficult then to beat the combined forces of Tories and Lib Dems in all of their seats," he said.
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September 13, 2010, 6:56 am
![Image]( "Connaught job losses rise to 1,100")
The number of redundancies at collapsed social housing firm Connaught has risen to 1,100 - but a new deal with a rival company could offer hope to nearly half of its former employees.
Administrator KPMG, which was brought in last week, said eight Connaught contracts will be transferred to Mears, a social housing repairs provider, and it was "hopeful" that some of the 600 redundant staff who worked on the contracts would be re-employed.
But the administrators also revealed 400 extra redundancies at the same time, following an initial 700 redundancies announced on Friday.
KPMG was brought in as administrator for Connaught's main company as well as subsidiaries Connaught Partnerships and Connaught Technical Solutions and initally said 4,200 jobs were at risk.
Construction group Morgan Sindall announced a deal on Friday to take on the majority of contracts at Connaught Partnerships, the social housing arm, saving 2,500 jobs.
Morgan Sindall's affordable housing division, Lovell Partnerships, said it had taken on the bulk of Connaught Partnerships' contracts in a £28 million deal.
Mears, based in Gloucester, would not confirm how much it had paid for the Connaught contracts, but it is thought to be a nominal fee.
Founded in 1988, Mears employs 8,000 people and provides maintenance and repairs services to 500,000 homes nationwide.
The administrators said they were also in urgent negotiations on two contracts with Norwich City Council. Connaught had won a £125 million five-year contract with the authority.
One of the contracts, which involves social housing services, is staffed by 300 Connaught Partnerships employees, who are all still facing the threat of redundancy.
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September 13, 2010, 6:56 am
![Image]( "Unions battle Government over cuts")
Unions are preparing to do battle with the Government over "lunatic" cuts to public services.
And the country's biggest council is set to be the first battleground of a campaign to fight spending cuts which could spark a wave of strikes in the coming months.
Thousands of Birmingham City Council workers will hold a mass meeting on September 23 after receiving letters warning they could lose their jobs under plans to slash spending.
The TUC agreed to co-ordinate campaigns and industrial action amid warnings that some unions have already started preparing to launch stoppages.
Millions of workers are now on a collision course with the Government as the scale of the austerity measures unfolds.
Leaders of the country's biggest unions lined up at the TUC conference in Manchester to lambast the coalition for its "reckless" spending cuts, which they said had already led to more than 200,000 job losses or threats of redundancies among public sector workers.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said it was a "lie" the country could not afford decent public services, arguing that the Government was making cuts because it wanted to promote privatisation.
"If there's money available to bail out banks and bonuses, if there's money for war and Trident, there's money for our public services. If money is tight, never mind a pay freeze for our members, how about a pay freeze for bankers? We've seen enough of what they've done, we've had enough of their greed and arrogance. It's them, not our members, who should be doing more for less."
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, who has called for civil disobedience to defend public services, drew loud applause from delegates when he said: "We lie down or stand up and fight." Gail Cartmail, of Unite, said unions were facing the "fight of our lives" and warned that women would suffer most from public spending cuts.
Brian Strutton of the GMB said a million people could lose their jobs as a result of the "reckless" cuts. Matt Wrack, of the Fire Brigades Union, said cutting Government budgets by 25% or 40% was "lunacy", adding that unions had to stop the cuts.
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September 13, 2010, 6:56 am
![Image]( "BBC workers to strike over pensions")
Thousands of BBC workers are to stage two 48-hour strikes in a row over pensions which threatens the corporation's coverage of the Conservative Party conference and the Government's comprehensive spending review, it has been announced.
Journalists, technicians and other broadcast staff will walk out on October 5 and 6, when the Conservative conference will be held, and again on October 19 and 20, the date of the spending review.
The action was announced by Bectu, the National Union of Journalists and Unite even though the BBC offered a new concession in an attempt to avert strikes.
Unions will consult with their members over the next few weeks before meeting on October 1 to decide whether to press ahead with the strikes.
Gerry Morrissey, Bectu's general secretary, said: "Whilst the BBC has heard and responded to some of our concerns, we are disappointed that the BBC's response fails to take account of the long-term implications of the worsening of pension terms for staff and their families.
"We believe that the BBC should be prepared to justify its position fully by agreeing to revisit pension benefits in April 2011, should official figures confirm that the total scheme deficit is less than £1.5 billion. That said, the latest proposals from the BBC warrant further detailed examination with members."
Jeremy Dear, NUJ general secretary said: "The BBC's continued insistence that staff pay much more for significantly worse benefits is unacceptable. We will be taking the union's case for fair pensions to a series of members' meetings across the UK.
"If the BBC fails to listen to the continued anger of staff at these unacceptable pensions changes, we will be left with no choice but to strike to stop the pensions robbery.
"Our strong and determined stand against the BBC's pensions robbery has resulted in today's proposals. We continue to believe they are unacceptable and unfair.
"We will consult with members, give the BBC the chance to address our ongoing concerns. If they fail to do so, they will face strike action."
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September 13, 2010, 6:56 am
![Image]( "Girl and father died of stab wounds")
A troubled teenager and her father found fatally injured at their home both died after suffering stab wounds, detectives have said.
Police released the results of post-mortem examinations two days after Margaret Pierides, 16, and her father Costas, 48, were discovered at their £750,000 house in Sible Hedingham, Essex.
Officers say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation.
Margaret died after being airlifted to hospital. Mr Pierides, a businessman, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The teenager's friends spoke of the rocky relationship she had endured with her father but said the pair appeared to have "patched things up" recently.
She had returned home a "few months ago" after spending time in a youth hostel in nearby Braintree.
Kika Willings, 18, who went to school in the village with Margaret, said: "When she went back home she was so happy. She was proper sorting her life out.
"She seemed to have patched things up. We were best friends. She was so much fun to be around. She was crazy."
Miss Willings's mother, Celestine Adams, 45, described Margaret as a "wild card".
In a tribute written to Margaret's mother, Bernadette, Mrs Adams said: "Bernadette, please take comfort from the fact that Margaret, the last couple of times we saw her, had a glow, a confidence and was looking gorgeous. She loved you and her brothers and sisters. Margaret was a lovely girl, a wild card - a little troubled but a lovely girl."
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September 13, 2010, 6:56 am
![Image]( "HMRC boss faces tax demand grilling")
The head of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is set to be hauled before a parliamentary committee to explain his organisation's handling of the current spate of unexpected tax demands going out to 1.4 million people.
Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary at HMRC, was forced to apologise at the weekend for the demands, which ask taxpayers to pay an additional average £1,428 because of inaccuracies in the PAYE system.
He issued a statement saying he was "deeply sorry" after a wave of anger greeted his comment in a radio interview that "I'm not sure I see a need to apologise".
The chairman of the influential House of Commons Treasury Committee, Andrew Tyrie, made clear that he wants to subject Mr Hartnett to a grilling by the cross-party committee.
And he suggested that the controversy over the handling of the demands may eventually force HMRC to make further concessions to taxpayers.
Mr Tyrie welcomed the Treasury's decision to write off debts smaller than £300 - an increase from the previous threshold of £50.
And he told BBC Radio 4's The World At One: "What may I think turn out to be a cock-up in the handling may result in the long run in greater concessions of that type than the Government would otherwise have needed."
The Treasury Committee is to decide whether to call Mr Hartnett to give evidence on the PAYE errors, which will also result in millions of taxpayers receiving rebates.
But Mr Tyrie left little doubt that he wants the chief taxman to face questions: "The handling of this has aroused great public concern, understandably. The explanations we have had have come in dribs and drabs through media interviews. There is a strong case for saying he should now give an explanation to Parliament.
"I will be raising the issue of whether he should appear before the Treasury Committee at our meeting tomorrow. I will listen to what colleagues tell me, but I think you can tell from the way I am saying this that I am not happy with the way this has been handled."
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September 13, 2010, 6:56 am
![Image]( "Osborne denies benefit cuts claims")
Chancellor George Osborne has denied allegations of a "turf war" between the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions over controversial plans for welfare cuts.
Mr Osborne was forced to answer an emergency question in the Commons after he revealed last week that he was to take another £4 billion from the welfare budget in his spending review, on top of £11 billion cuts made in June's budget.
He declined to discuss the figures in his short statement to MPs but said the welfare bill had risen by 45% in the last 10 years and the system needed radical reform.
"The current system is not protecting those who genuinely cannot work, nor is it helping those desperately looking for work to find a new job quickly," he said.
Liberal Democrat Bob Russell, who tabled the question, said: "While I have no time for the welfare cheats, to try and blame this country's financial ills on that small category of the population I think is unethical."
He added: "I find it somewhat immature, this turf war between your office and that of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Iain Duncan Smith)."
But Mr Osborne insisted the relationship between the two departments was "strong".
The Chancellor told MPs there were around five million people on out of work benefits and more than half of these had spent at least half of the last decade in this situation.
"Rather than rewarding work and supporting the vulnerable, we are wasting the life of millions of people," he said.
"That is why Mr Duncan Smith is working with me and other Cabinet colleagues to see what we can do to fundamentally reform the welfare system so that it rewards work and supports aspiration, as well as saving the taxpayer on what some once called the bills of social failure."
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September 13, 2010, 1:10 pm
![Image]( "Expert attacks 'Cracker' profilers")
Real life "crackers" who attempt to penetrate the minds of serial killers have been accused of being "worthless" purveyors of bad science.
Criminal profilers, such as the Fitz character portrayed by Robbie Coltrane in the Cracker TV series, were said to be "dragging down" psychology and almost on a par with fortune tellers.
The assault came from consultant psychologist Dr Craig Jackson, co-author of a damning critique of the profession soon to be published in a legal journal.
He argues that criminal profiling may be surrounded by a media-driven mystique but is unscientific and potentially harmful.
"Behavioural profiling has never led to the direct apprehension of a serial killer or murderer, so it seems to have no real-world value," said Dr Jackson.
"There have been no clinical trials to show that behavioural profiling works and there have been major miscarriages of justice. It's given too much credibility as a scientific discipline and I think this is a serious issue."
Profiling involves building up a picture of an as-yet unidentified suspect from the offender's methods, choice of victim, and clues left at the crime scene.
Britain's best known criminal profiler is Paul Britton, who has been involved in high profile cases such as the Fred and Rose West killings, and the murders of James Bulger, schoolgirl Naomi Smith and Rachel Nickell.
In 2002 Mr Britton was cleared of professional misconduct by the British Psychological Society after the collapse of the case against Nickell suspect Colin Stagg. Serial rapist Robert Napper eventually admitted murdering Ms Nickell on Wimbledon Common, south-west London, in 1992.
Dr Jackson will voice his criticisms this week at the British Festival of Science, which opened on Monday at Aston University in Birmingham.
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September 13, 2010, 1:25 pm
![Image]( "Leg injuries caused lake death")
An 11-year-old girl who was hit by a speedboat after falling from a banana boat died of severe leg injuries, a post-mortem examination has revealed.
Mari-Simon Cronje was at a friend's birthday party when she fell into the water in a lake at the Princes Sports Club, near Feltham, west London, on Saturday afternoon.
It is believed the speedboat towing the banana boat may have turned back after she fell in the lake and accidentally ran her over.
A 22-year-old man, understood to be the driver of the motorboat which was towing the girl, was arrested and released on bail.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "A post-mortem examination took place at Fulham mortuary and concluded that cause of death was severe leg injuries. At this early stage, we believe the girl was on an inflatable banana boat, which was being towed by a motorboat, when she fell into the water. Inquiries continue to establish the full circumstances of the incident."
Mari-Simon Cronje's parents said in a statement: "Our beautiful 11-year-old daughter, Mari-Simon Cronje, was killed in a tragic water sports accident on Saturday afternoon at Princes Club, Bedfont near Feltham. She was a guest at a children's birthday party.
"We are still battling to come to terms with the news"
Paramedics and police officers were called to the club in Clockhouse Lane, Bedfont, shortly before 5pm on Saturday.
Mari-Simon, from London, was treated by ambulance service staff before being taken to West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth, where she died the same day.
The Metropolitan Police said officers from the Specialist Crime Directorate are investigating, alongside investigators from the Department for Transport's Maritime Accident Investigation Branch. The Princes Club has closed while investigations are carried out.
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September 13, 2010, 1:25 pm
![Image]( "MPs back fixed-term parliament plan")
Plans to move to five-year, fixed-term parliaments have been backed by MPs despite warnings it could lead to clashes between the Commons and the judiciary.
The Fixed-Term Parliaments Bill gained its second reading in the Commons by 311 votes to 23, Government majority 288, after Nick Clegg had earlier claimed it would remove the right of a prime minister to seek a dissolution of Parliament for "pure political gain".
The Deputy Prime Minister spoke of the "damage" done when a prime minister "dithers and hesitates over the election date, keeping the country guessing".
He said: "There will be no more feverish speculation over the date of the next election, distracting politicians from getting on with running the country.
"Instead everyone will know how long Parliament can be expected to last, bringing much greater stability to our political system. And, crucially, if for some reason there is a need for Parliament to dissolve early, that will be up to the House of Commons to decide."
But he faced strong criticism from Labour and some Tory MPs, with shadow justice secretary Jack Straw warning it could lead to "constitutional limbo".
And he was challenged over the problems that could be caused by the overlap of the general election date with elections in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
DUP spokesman Nigel Dodds accused the Government of failing to adhere to the Prime Minister's "respect agenda" in dealing with the devolved administrations. Like Mr Dodds, SNP spokesman Pete Wishart said he was in favour of fixed-term parliaments but said the Government was not consulting with Holyrood, Stormont or the Senedd.
Mr Straw said Labour would not be voting against the Bill at second reading, but confirmed the party reserved the right to revisit its position as the Bill progressed through Parliament. He added: "The primary purpose of this Bill is to serve as a form of constitutional handcuffs to prevent either one of the coalition parties from assassinating the other."
Turning to fears the Bill could lead to clashes between the courts and the Commons he warned: "It leaves a large loophole by which prime ministers could use their prerogative power to prorogue Parliament ... and the Bill's mechanism for triggering an early dissolution of Parliament may impinge on parliamentary privilege by creating the risk that courts could intervene on parliamentary procedure."
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September 13, 2010, 1:25 pm
![Image]( "Recycling 'may create 50,000 jobs'")
Ambitious targets to increase the amount of rubbish recycled in the UK could help create more than 50,000 jobs, a report suggested.
The study by Friends of the Earth said 51,400 jobs could be created if 70% of waste collected by local councils were recycled.
And another 18,800 jobs would be created if commercial and industrial waste were recycled at the same rate.
According to the study, recycling creates 10 times more jobs per tonne than sending rubbish to landfill or incineration, with posts generated in collection, sorting and reprocessing, as well as in the supply chain and in the wider economy.
In 2008, the UK recycled around 37% of municipal waste - rubbish collected by local councils from households and other sources such as street sweepings and public bins.
Under EU rules, that has to rise to 50% by 2020.
While Wales and Scotland have announced they plan to recycle 70% of council-collected waste by 2025, Northern Ireland and England, where most rubbish is thrown away, are still aiming to recycle only 50%.
Friends of the Earth warned the UK would lose out on nearly 25,000 new jobs in the recycling industry and wider economy if it stuck to the 50% target instead of raising its aim.
If the country were to set and meet the ambitious 70% target, it could create 29,400 jobs in the recycling industry, a further 14,700 in the supply chain and 7,300 in the wider economy, the report estimates.
Friends of the Earth waste campaigner Julian Kirby said: "Recycling is a win-win for the environment and the economy - saving precious resources and creating many more jobs than expensive and outdated incinerators."
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September 13, 2010, 1:25 pm
![Image]( "Concern over child TV exposure")
A majority of parents in the UK believe children are being exposed to "inappropriate" content on television before the 9pm watershed, according to research published.
An online study of 1,004 parents of children under the age of 18 years old has shown that 67% believe that "inappropriate" content is broadcast before the 9pm watershed.
A further 80% told the Mothers' Union survey that they believed films and video games with sexual or violent themes can be accessed too easily by children.
The research conducted last month also showed that 80% of parents believe that television, films, magazines and the internet make children sexually aware at a younger age than they would be otherwise.
The findings are included in the charity's report Bye Bye Childhood detailing the impact of advertising and marketing on children's happiness.
The charity has called for a ban on marketing or selling goods of a sexualised nature to children under 16 years of age.
It also wants to see safeguards to ensure children under 16 are shielded from marketing and displays of sexualised products.
The charity said it was concerned about the recruitment of children on the internet for so-called "peer-to-peer" marketing.
Under these schemes, children are encouraged to pass email addresses of friends to advertisers and promote products to other children in the playground, the report said.
Rosemary Kempsell, Mothers' Union worldwide president, said: "Mothers' Union is concerned at the increasing levels of marketing aimed at children."
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September 14, 2010, 1:35 pm
![Image]( "Equitable compensation plans backed")
Moves by the Government to establish a compensation scheme to help policyholders who lost money in the Equitable Life collapse have been backed by MPs.
The Equitable Life (Payments) Bill, which prepares the ground for compensation payments to around 1.5 million policyholders, gained its second reading in the Commons without a vote.
But ministers appeared to be dampening down the expectations of campaigners who want to see victims of the scandal paid as much as possible.
Treasury Financial Secretary Mark Hoban repeatedly stressed the need to consider the "impact on the public purse" of the size of the compensation fund and appeared to rule out demands from MPs for staged payouts.
He also confirmed that the Government would announce how much it could afford the scheme to be during the crucial comprehensive spending review next month.
Mr Hoban told the Commons: "The Bill before us is a key milestone on the road to resolving these long-standing issues. It's a clear sign of the Government's commitment to those who suffered loss due to the maladministration of regulation at Equitable Life. Policyholders have waited decades for justice; passing this important piece of legislation is essential to achieving justice for policyholders."
But shadow financial secretary Stephen Timms accused the Government of a "breathtaking breach of trust". The Government had failed to deliver on the pledge that so many Tory MPs had signed up to, he claimed.
"We have two quite different ways forward - we have one that was recommended by the Ombudsman, the previous government thought there were some serious difficulties in that approach and therefore called upon Sir John Chadwick to give advice," Mr Timms told MPs. "The Government now needs to choose which of those two options it intends to follow.
The debate came as Equitable's chief executive, Chris Wiscarson, said compensation totalling £2 billion would be a "great start" despite the fact it is estimated policyholders lost more than £4 billion.
He said: "If we take the number of £4 billion to £4.8 billion and go to the lower end of that, £4 billion, what can the Government really afford? I have said that they are announcing 75%, or at least 25% reductions in other government departments. So that must be a good starting point. However, if you look at the £4 billion, what's the right thing that government must do? I think ... £2 billion, minimum £2 billion for policyholders. That would be a great start."
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September 14, 2010, 1:35 pm
![Image]( "Wham! star jailed over drug-driving")
Pop star George Michael is starting an eight-week prison sentence after crashing his Range Rover while high on cannabis.
The 47-year-old, whose real name is Georgios Panayiotou, was found slumped at the wheel of his car after it ploughed into a branch of Snappy Snaps in north London in July.
Michael, who has a previous conviction for the same offence, was told by District Judge John Perkins there was no option but jail.
The former Wham! star admitted driving while unfit through drugs and possessing two cannabis cigarettes when he appeared at London's Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court last month.
Police who banged on the window found him "spaced out" and with no memory of what had happened.
Blood tests showed he had chemicals linked to cannabis in his system.
The singer sighed heavily as District Judge Perkins said he would serve four weeks in prison and spend the remainder on licence.
Michael was also banned from driving for five years and ordered to pay a £1,250 fine, £100 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
One fan sobbed in the public gallery as he was taken down from the dock by security guards.
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September 14, 2010, 1:35 pm
![Image]( "Millions 'below low wage figure'")
More than five million people in the UK earn less than a low pay threshold, highlighting the huge level of wage inequality in the country, according to a new report.
The TUC said many workers have to put in long hours to earn enough money to meet their basic needs as it launched a report on the "quest" for a living wage.
The study showed that 5.3 million people - more than a fifth of all employees - fall below a low pay threshold put at £6.75 an hour for a single person, almost £1 more than the national minimum wage of £5.80.
The number of people falling below the threshold is one of the highest in Europe, hitting the economy and fuelling wage inequality, said the report.
Since 1997, the poorest 10% of households have seen their weekly incomes fall by £9 a week and as real wages have fallen, the gap between what workers earned and what they needed had been increasingly filled by debt, said the report.
The TUC warned that some bosses were using the current economic problems as a "smokescreen" to freeze the pay of workers.
TUC deputy general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "The living wage campaign has made enormous strides since 2001, taking thousands of families out of poverty and helping to boost fragile local economies in cities that have adopted living wage policies.
"Government ministers, public authorities, businesses and the City have seen the moral and practical benefits of paying a living wage. This is not a luxury in a time of economic downturn, but the key to building a fair, equitable and sustainable recovery."
Ben Whittaker of the National Union of Students said: "It is very hard for anyone looking for a job at the moment and many people, particularly graduates and other young people, are being asked to work for low pay in order to get experience in their chosen field.
"It is vital that employers pay a living wage to all their employees so that everyone can earn enough money to pay for essential goods and services."
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September 14, 2010, 1:35 pm
![Image]( "Rape cases handling review shelved")
A major review of how police handle rape cases has been shelved amid efforts by the Government to save money.
The study by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) had been prompted by a series of high profile blunders by detectives.
The Home Office insisted funding for the probe was withdrawn in June because it would merely have "duplicated" other reviews by Baroness Stern and Sara Payne.
HMIC is still carrying out research into reoffending issues, which will be paid for out of its own budgets.
But the news could raise fresh questions over the impact of government budget cuts on law and order. Home Secretary Theresa May is due to address the Police Superintendents' Association amid warnings from a police chief that extreme reductions could result in crime-fighting "Armageddon".
Last year it emerged that John Worboys, a London taxi driver, had been left free to attack hundreds of women because officers did not believe victims' reports of being assaulted.
Weeks after Worboys was jailed, Kirk Reid was convicted of more than 20 attacks, including two rapes. He had apparently come to the police's attention 12 times before he was arrested and charged.
Following the cases, HMIC announced that it would carry out a full audit of how victims were treated. The study - financed with £441,000 from the Home Office - was to scrutinise rape investigations from beginning to end, including how police built their cases and dealt with those accused.
Dave Gee, an adviser to the Government on rape, told a national newspaper that abandoning the scheme was short-sighted and momentum was being lost on improving investigation methods. "Despite the advice to investigators and prosecutors to try to build cases, and thus the credibility of the victim, there is little evidence of this being applied routinely. It results in a majority of discontinued cases."
He said some forces were already reviewing rape investigations in the expectation of funding shortfalls. "There are signs that the future may not be encouraging," Mr Gee said.
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Welfare cuts have come under renewed fire from disability charities as the Government tried to play down reports that it plans a £2.5 billion slashing of sickness benefit.
Critics accused the Tory-Lib Dem coalition of targeting the most vulnerable in its quest to find drastic savings in public spending to tackle the UK's record deficit.
Chancellor George Osborne signalled last week that he wanted to shave an extra £4 billion from the bill for state help - on top of £11 billion cuts made in June's emergency Budget.
He gave no details of where the axe would fall, but a letter leaked to the Observer showed that in June he had agreed a deal to reduce the Employment and Support Allowance by £2.5 billion.
Labour said cuts on that scale to the replacement for Incapacity Benefit could only be made by taking cash from the genuinely sick and disabled in what it dubbed "vicious cuts on the poorest", while disability charity Scope said it would put a "vital lifeline" at risk.
But Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said things had "moved on" since the letter was written - part of hard-fought negotiations with Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith.
While Labour had left the Government with no choice but to make "significant" cuts in benefits to balance the books, they would be made in a "fair" way, he told Sky News.
Scope chief executive Richard Hawkes said: "The Government's promise to ensure fairness in the budget cuts is undermined by the revelation of its plans to cut £2.5 billion of support to disabled people.
"This highlights the critical need for the Government to undertake a full impact assessment to ensure that it is not the most vulnerable people that are hit the hardest by the cuts.
"Claiming employment and support allowance is not a 'lifestyle choice' for disabled people, but a crucial lifeline that enables them to participate in society."
Three men have been remanded in custody when they appeared in court charged in connection with the murder of a man whose badly-burnt body was found on a golf course.
Stefan Welch, 37, was discovered by golfers as they walked between the 17th and 18th holes at Dyke Golf Club on the outskirts of Brighton just before noon on September 4.
He probably died from a blow to the head, a post-mortem examination found.
Sean Cirus Iran, 21, of St Richards Road, Portslade, Brighton, is charged with the murder of Mr Welch.
He was also charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice along with Babak Iran, 44, and Navid Iran, 23, of the same address.
Mr Welch, who lived at the Phase One hostel in Oriental Place, Brighton, was known to police and was identified after a DNA sample provided a match on the national database.
The three charged men will next appear at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday, a spokesman for Sussex Police said.
Shadow foreign minister Chris Bryant has officially issued judicial review proceedings over the newspaper phone-hacking row.
Lawyers representing the Labour MP, former Scotland Yard deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick and journalist Brendan Montague have asked the courts to decide whether police handled the case properly.
The News of the World's ex-royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glen Mulcaire were jailed in 2007 after accessing the voicemails of public figures.
Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson - the paper's editor at the time - has found himself at the centre of fresh controversy recently amid claims he was aware that such practices were widespread among his reporters.
Mr Coulson has repeatedly denied any knowledge of such activities, and the Metropolitan Police has insisted it carried out a thorough probe.
Confirming the widely expected judicial review move, Tamsin Allen, a partner at law firm Bindmans LLP, said: "Our clients have still not been told the whole story about how their names came to be in the papers seized during the phone hacking investigation in 2006 and why they were not warned that their privacy might have been compromised.
"The court will now determine whether or not the Metropolitan Police breached its public law and human rights obligations in the way it handled this investigation and its aftermath.
"We expect being in a position shortly to announce the names of at least two others in a similar position who will join these proceedings in due course."
Prime Minister David Cameron has met heroes of the Battle of Britain at the start of a week of commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the RAF's historic struggle with Germany's Luftwaffe.
The event in central London was Mr Cameron's first public engagement since the death of his father Ian last week.
He told the veterans and their wives how his father, who was born with stunted legs, had always been proud of meeting flying ace Douglas Bader, who lost his legs in an air accident and encouraged him to make the most of his life despite his disability.
Mr Cameron welcomed a full-size replica of a Spitfire fighter plane of the kind which took part in the Battle, which will be positioned outside the Ministry of Defence building on Whitehall throughout the week.
He met four of the people wartime PM Sir Winston Churchill called "the few": Spitfire pilots Geoffrey Wellum, 89, from Cornwall, and William Walker, 97, from west London; Hurricane pilot Bob Foster, 90, from St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex; and Blenheim gunner Owen Burns, 94, from west London.
They also met current Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton and Defence Secretary Liam Fox.
Flight Lieutenant Walker recalled how he flew Spitfires as a pilot officer in the RAF from May until August 1940, when he was shot by a Luftwaffe Messerschmitt 109 and had to bail out into the Channel, where he was rescued by a fishing boat.
"It is a very proud day," said Flt Lt Walker. "It is nice that people remember us. It's very satisfying. People must always remember what happened. You and I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for those men."
About 2,900 RAF aircrew took part in the Battle of Britain, which raged in the skies of the south of England from July 10 and October 31 1940, and almost 550 were killed. The Battle marked a decisive turning point in the war, halting Adolf Hitler's plans for an invasion of Britain.
The plane positioned on Whitehall is a replica 41 (F) Squadron Supermarine Spitfire Mk I of the kind which flew in 1940.
David Cameron and Nick Clegg are facing calls to bind their two parties together in a formal electoral pact.
Tory backbencher Nick Boles warned that unless a deal was agreed, the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition could crack under the pressure as it pushed through unpopular spending cuts.
Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes has previously ruled out any new pact with the Conservatives, insisting that the party would "take on all-comers" at the next general election, due in 2015.
However, Mr Boles, a leading Tory moderniser and a close ally of Mr Cameron, said it made sense for the two parties to fight the election together as they would be defending the same record in government.
"The Government is going to come under enormous pressure over the next few months and years. There are lots of MPs in marginal seats who are going to be facing pretty grim prospects," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
"I think that it is really important that we agree this pact before the cuts start coming home, because if we wait until then it will probably be too late. I am worried that the pressure that the coalition will come under could actually drive it apart.
"An electoral pact would make an enormous difference in making sure that every backbench MP, however small their majority, whether Lib Dem or Tory, has an interest in sticking with the coalition until the election in 2015."
Mr Boles said he believed the Conservatives should agree not to put up candidates in Lib Dem-held constituencies, while the Lib Dems should not field candidates in Tory-held seats.
"The Labour Party would find it very, very difficult then to beat the combined forces of Tories and Lib Dems in all of their seats," he said.
The number of redundancies at collapsed social housing firm Connaught has risen to 1,100 - but a new deal with a rival company could offer hope to nearly half of its former employees.
Administrator KPMG, which was brought in last week, said eight Connaught contracts will be transferred to Mears, a social housing repairs provider, and it was "hopeful" that some of the 600 redundant staff who worked on the contracts would be re-employed.
But the administrators also revealed 400 extra redundancies at the same time, following an initial 700 redundancies announced on Friday.
KPMG was brought in as administrator for Connaught's main company as well as subsidiaries Connaught Partnerships and Connaught Technical Solutions and initally said 4,200 jobs were at risk.
Construction group Morgan Sindall announced a deal on Friday to take on the majority of contracts at Connaught Partnerships, the social housing arm, saving 2,500 jobs.
Morgan Sindall's affordable housing division, Lovell Partnerships, said it had taken on the bulk of Connaught Partnerships' contracts in a £28 million deal.
Mears, based in Gloucester, would not confirm how much it had paid for the Connaught contracts, but it is thought to be a nominal fee.
Founded in 1988, Mears employs 8,000 people and provides maintenance and repairs services to 500,000 homes nationwide.
The administrators said they were also in urgent negotiations on two contracts with Norwich City Council. Connaught had won a £125 million five-year contract with the authority.
One of the contracts, which involves social housing services, is staffed by 300 Connaught Partnerships employees, who are all still facing the threat of redundancy.
Unions are preparing to do battle with the Government over "lunatic" cuts to public services.
And the country's biggest council is set to be the first battleground of a campaign to fight spending cuts which could spark a wave of strikes in the coming months.
Thousands of Birmingham City Council workers will hold a mass meeting on September 23 after receiving letters warning they could lose their jobs under plans to slash spending.
The TUC agreed to co-ordinate campaigns and industrial action amid warnings that some unions have already started preparing to launch stoppages.
Millions of workers are now on a collision course with the Government as the scale of the austerity measures unfolds.
Leaders of the country's biggest unions lined up at the TUC conference in Manchester to lambast the coalition for its "reckless" spending cuts, which they said had already led to more than 200,000 job losses or threats of redundancies among public sector workers.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said it was a "lie" the country could not afford decent public services, arguing that the Government was making cuts because it wanted to promote privatisation.
"If there's money available to bail out banks and bonuses, if there's money for war and Trident, there's money for our public services. If money is tight, never mind a pay freeze for our members, how about a pay freeze for bankers? We've seen enough of what they've done, we've had enough of their greed and arrogance. It's them, not our members, who should be doing more for less."
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, who has called for civil disobedience to defend public services, drew loud applause from delegates when he said: "We lie down or stand up and fight." Gail Cartmail, of Unite, said unions were facing the "fight of our lives" and warned that women would suffer most from public spending cuts.
Brian Strutton of the GMB said a million people could lose their jobs as a result of the "reckless" cuts. Matt Wrack, of the Fire Brigades Union, said cutting Government budgets by 25% or 40% was "lunacy", adding that unions had to stop the cuts.
Thousands of BBC workers are to stage two 48-hour strikes in a row over pensions which threatens the corporation's coverage of the Conservative Party conference and the Government's comprehensive spending review, it has been announced.
Journalists, technicians and other broadcast staff will walk out on October 5 and 6, when the Conservative conference will be held, and again on October 19 and 20, the date of the spending review.
The action was announced by Bectu, the National Union of Journalists and Unite even though the BBC offered a new concession in an attempt to avert strikes.
Unions will consult with their members over the next few weeks before meeting on October 1 to decide whether to press ahead with the strikes.
Gerry Morrissey, Bectu's general secretary, said: "Whilst the BBC has heard and responded to some of our concerns, we are disappointed that the BBC's response fails to take account of the long-term implications of the worsening of pension terms for staff and their families.
"We believe that the BBC should be prepared to justify its position fully by agreeing to revisit pension benefits in April 2011, should official figures confirm that the total scheme deficit is less than £1.5 billion. That said, the latest proposals from the BBC warrant further detailed examination with members."
Jeremy Dear, NUJ general secretary said: "The BBC's continued insistence that staff pay much more for significantly worse benefits is unacceptable. We will be taking the union's case for fair pensions to a series of members' meetings across the UK.
"If the BBC fails to listen to the continued anger of staff at these unacceptable pensions changes, we will be left with no choice but to strike to stop the pensions robbery.
"Our strong and determined stand against the BBC's pensions robbery has resulted in today's proposals. We continue to believe they are unacceptable and unfair.
"We will consult with members, give the BBC the chance to address our ongoing concerns. If they fail to do so, they will face strike action."
A troubled teenager and her father found fatally injured at their home both died after suffering stab wounds, detectives have said.
Police released the results of post-mortem examinations two days after Margaret Pierides, 16, and her father Costas, 48, were discovered at their £750,000 house in Sible Hedingham, Essex.
Officers say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation.
Margaret died after being airlifted to hospital. Mr Pierides, a businessman, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The teenager's friends spoke of the rocky relationship she had endured with her father but said the pair appeared to have "patched things up" recently.
She had returned home a "few months ago" after spending time in a youth hostel in nearby Braintree.
Kika Willings, 18, who went to school in the village with Margaret, said: "When she went back home she was so happy. She was proper sorting her life out.
"She seemed to have patched things up. We were best friends. She was so much fun to be around. She was crazy."
Miss Willings's mother, Celestine Adams, 45, described Margaret as a "wild card".
In a tribute written to Margaret's mother, Bernadette, Mrs Adams said: "Bernadette, please take comfort from the fact that Margaret, the last couple of times we saw her, had a glow, a confidence and was looking gorgeous. She loved you and her brothers and sisters. Margaret was a lovely girl, a wild card - a little troubled but a lovely girl."
The head of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is set to be hauled before a parliamentary committee to explain his organisation's handling of the current spate of unexpected tax demands going out to 1.4 million people.
Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary at HMRC, was forced to apologise at the weekend for the demands, which ask taxpayers to pay an additional average £1,428 because of inaccuracies in the PAYE system.
He issued a statement saying he was "deeply sorry" after a wave of anger greeted his comment in a radio interview that "I'm not sure I see a need to apologise".
The chairman of the influential House of Commons Treasury Committee, Andrew Tyrie, made clear that he wants to subject Mr Hartnett to a grilling by the cross-party committee.
And he suggested that the controversy over the handling of the demands may eventually force HMRC to make further concessions to taxpayers.
Mr Tyrie welcomed the Treasury's decision to write off debts smaller than £300 - an increase from the previous threshold of £50.
And he told BBC Radio 4's The World At One: "What may I think turn out to be a cock-up in the handling may result in the long run in greater concessions of that type than the Government would otherwise have needed."
The Treasury Committee is to decide whether to call Mr Hartnett to give evidence on the PAYE errors, which will also result in millions of taxpayers receiving rebates.
But Mr Tyrie left little doubt that he wants the chief taxman to face questions: "The handling of this has aroused great public concern, understandably. The explanations we have had have come in dribs and drabs through media interviews. There is a strong case for saying he should now give an explanation to Parliament.
"I will be raising the issue of whether he should appear before the Treasury Committee at our meeting tomorrow. I will listen to what colleagues tell me, but I think you can tell from the way I am saying this that I am not happy with the way this has been handled."
Chancellor George Osborne has denied allegations of a "turf war" between the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions over controversial plans for welfare cuts.
Mr Osborne was forced to answer an emergency question in the Commons after he revealed last week that he was to take another £4 billion from the welfare budget in his spending review, on top of £11 billion cuts made in June's budget.
He declined to discuss the figures in his short statement to MPs but said the welfare bill had risen by 45% in the last 10 years and the system needed radical reform.
"The current system is not protecting those who genuinely cannot work, nor is it helping those desperately looking for work to find a new job quickly," he said.
Liberal Democrat Bob Russell, who tabled the question, said: "While I have no time for the welfare cheats, to try and blame this country's financial ills on that small category of the population I think is unethical."
He added: "I find it somewhat immature, this turf war between your office and that of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Iain Duncan Smith)."
But Mr Osborne insisted the relationship between the two departments was "strong".
The Chancellor told MPs there were around five million people on out of work benefits and more than half of these had spent at least half of the last decade in this situation.
"Rather than rewarding work and supporting the vulnerable, we are wasting the life of millions of people," he said.
"That is why Mr Duncan Smith is working with me and other Cabinet colleagues to see what we can do to fundamentally reform the welfare system so that it rewards work and supports aspiration, as well as saving the taxpayer on what some once called the bills of social failure."
Real life "crackers" who attempt to penetrate the minds of serial killers have been accused of being "worthless" purveyors of bad science.
Criminal profilers, such as the Fitz character portrayed by Robbie Coltrane in the Cracker TV series, were said to be "dragging down" psychology and almost on a par with fortune tellers.
The assault came from consultant psychologist Dr Craig Jackson, co-author of a damning critique of the profession soon to be published in a legal journal.
He argues that criminal profiling may be surrounded by a media-driven mystique but is unscientific and potentially harmful.
"Behavioural profiling has never led to the direct apprehension of a serial killer or murderer, so it seems to have no real-world value," said Dr Jackson.
"There have been no clinical trials to show that behavioural profiling works and there have been major miscarriages of justice. It's given too much credibility as a scientific discipline and I think this is a serious issue."
Profiling involves building up a picture of an as-yet unidentified suspect from the offender's methods, choice of victim, and clues left at the crime scene.
Britain's best known criminal profiler is Paul Britton, who has been involved in high profile cases such as the Fred and Rose West killings, and the murders of James Bulger, schoolgirl Naomi Smith and Rachel Nickell.
In 2002 Mr Britton was cleared of professional misconduct by the British Psychological Society after the collapse of the case against Nickell suspect Colin Stagg. Serial rapist Robert Napper eventually admitted murdering Ms Nickell on Wimbledon Common, south-west London, in 1992.
Dr Jackson will voice his criticisms this week at the British Festival of Science, which opened on Monday at Aston University in Birmingham.
An 11-year-old girl who was hit by a speedboat after falling from a banana boat died of severe leg injuries, a post-mortem examination has revealed.
Mari-Simon Cronje was at a friend's birthday party when she fell into the water in a lake at the Princes Sports Club, near Feltham, west London, on Saturday afternoon.
It is believed the speedboat towing the banana boat may have turned back after she fell in the lake and accidentally ran her over.
A 22-year-old man, understood to be the driver of the motorboat which was towing the girl, was arrested and released on bail.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "A post-mortem examination took place at Fulham mortuary and concluded that cause of death was severe leg injuries. At this early stage, we believe the girl was on an inflatable banana boat, which was being towed by a motorboat, when she fell into the water. Inquiries continue to establish the full circumstances of the incident."
Mari-Simon Cronje's parents said in a statement: "Our beautiful 11-year-old daughter, Mari-Simon Cronje, was killed in a tragic water sports accident on Saturday afternoon at Princes Club, Bedfont near Feltham. She was a guest at a children's birthday party.
"We are still battling to come to terms with the news"
Paramedics and police officers were called to the club in Clockhouse Lane, Bedfont, shortly before 5pm on Saturday.
Mari-Simon, from London, was treated by ambulance service staff before being taken to West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth, where she died the same day.
The Metropolitan Police said officers from the Specialist Crime Directorate are investigating, alongside investigators from the Department for Transport's Maritime Accident Investigation Branch. The Princes Club has closed while investigations are carried out.
Plans to move to five-year, fixed-term parliaments have been backed by MPs despite warnings it could lead to clashes between the Commons and the judiciary.
The Fixed-Term Parliaments Bill gained its second reading in the Commons by 311 votes to 23, Government majority 288, after Nick Clegg had earlier claimed it would remove the right of a prime minister to seek a dissolution of Parliament for "pure political gain".
The Deputy Prime Minister spoke of the "damage" done when a prime minister "dithers and hesitates over the election date, keeping the country guessing".
He said: "There will be no more feverish speculation over the date of the next election, distracting politicians from getting on with running the country.
"Instead everyone will know how long Parliament can be expected to last, bringing much greater stability to our political system. And, crucially, if for some reason there is a need for Parliament to dissolve early, that will be up to the House of Commons to decide."
But he faced strong criticism from Labour and some Tory MPs, with shadow justice secretary Jack Straw warning it could lead to "constitutional limbo".
And he was challenged over the problems that could be caused by the overlap of the general election date with elections in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
DUP spokesman Nigel Dodds accused the Government of failing to adhere to the Prime Minister's "respect agenda" in dealing with the devolved administrations. Like Mr Dodds, SNP spokesman Pete Wishart said he was in favour of fixed-term parliaments but said the Government was not consulting with Holyrood, Stormont or the Senedd.
Mr Straw said Labour would not be voting against the Bill at second reading, but confirmed the party reserved the right to revisit its position as the Bill progressed through Parliament. He added: "The primary purpose of this Bill is to serve as a form of constitutional handcuffs to prevent either one of the coalition parties from assassinating the other."
Turning to fears the Bill could lead to clashes between the courts and the Commons he warned: "It leaves a large loophole by which prime ministers could use their prerogative power to prorogue Parliament ... and the Bill's mechanism for triggering an early dissolution of Parliament may impinge on parliamentary privilege by creating the risk that courts could intervene on parliamentary procedure."
Ambitious targets to increase the amount of rubbish recycled in the UK could help create more than 50,000 jobs, a report suggested.
The study by Friends of the Earth said 51,400 jobs could be created if 70% of waste collected by local councils were recycled.
And another 18,800 jobs would be created if commercial and industrial waste were recycled at the same rate.
According to the study, recycling creates 10 times more jobs per tonne than sending rubbish to landfill or incineration, with posts generated in collection, sorting and reprocessing, as well as in the supply chain and in the wider economy.
In 2008, the UK recycled around 37% of municipal waste - rubbish collected by local councils from households and other sources such as street sweepings and public bins.
Under EU rules, that has to rise to 50% by 2020.
While Wales and Scotland have announced they plan to recycle 70% of council-collected waste by 2025, Northern Ireland and England, where most rubbish is thrown away, are still aiming to recycle only 50%.
Friends of the Earth warned the UK would lose out on nearly 25,000 new jobs in the recycling industry and wider economy if it stuck to the 50% target instead of raising its aim.
If the country were to set and meet the ambitious 70% target, it could create 29,400 jobs in the recycling industry, a further 14,700 in the supply chain and 7,300 in the wider economy, the report estimates.
Friends of the Earth waste campaigner Julian Kirby said: "Recycling is a win-win for the environment and the economy - saving precious resources and creating many more jobs than expensive and outdated incinerators."
A majority of parents in the UK believe children are being exposed to "inappropriate" content on television before the 9pm watershed, according to research published.
An online study of 1,004 parents of children under the age of 18 years old has shown that 67% believe that "inappropriate" content is broadcast before the 9pm watershed.
A further 80% told the Mothers' Union survey that they believed films and video games with sexual or violent themes can be accessed too easily by children.
The research conducted last month also showed that 80% of parents believe that television, films, magazines and the internet make children sexually aware at a younger age than they would be otherwise.
The findings are included in the charity's report Bye Bye Childhood detailing the impact of advertising and marketing on children's happiness.
The charity has called for a ban on marketing or selling goods of a sexualised nature to children under 16 years of age.
It also wants to see safeguards to ensure children under 16 are shielded from marketing and displays of sexualised products.
The charity said it was concerned about the recruitment of children on the internet for so-called "peer-to-peer" marketing.
Under these schemes, children are encouraged to pass email addresses of friends to advertisers and promote products to other children in the playground, the report said.
Rosemary Kempsell, Mothers' Union worldwide president, said: "Mothers' Union is concerned at the increasing levels of marketing aimed at children."
Moves by the Government to establish a compensation scheme to help policyholders who lost money in the Equitable Life collapse have been backed by MPs.
The Equitable Life (Payments) Bill, which prepares the ground for compensation payments to around 1.5 million policyholders, gained its second reading in the Commons without a vote.
But ministers appeared to be dampening down the expectations of campaigners who want to see victims of the scandal paid as much as possible.
Treasury Financial Secretary Mark Hoban repeatedly stressed the need to consider the "impact on the public purse" of the size of the compensation fund and appeared to rule out demands from MPs for staged payouts.
He also confirmed that the Government would announce how much it could afford the scheme to be during the crucial comprehensive spending review next month.
Mr Hoban told the Commons: "The Bill before us is a key milestone on the road to resolving these long-standing issues. It's a clear sign of the Government's commitment to those who suffered loss due to the maladministration of regulation at Equitable Life. Policyholders have waited decades for justice; passing this important piece of legislation is essential to achieving justice for policyholders."
But shadow financial secretary Stephen Timms accused the Government of a "breathtaking breach of trust". The Government had failed to deliver on the pledge that so many Tory MPs had signed up to, he claimed.
"We have two quite different ways forward - we have one that was recommended by the Ombudsman, the previous government thought there were some serious difficulties in that approach and therefore called upon Sir John Chadwick to give advice," Mr Timms told MPs. "The Government now needs to choose which of those two options it intends to follow.
The debate came as Equitable's chief executive, Chris Wiscarson, said compensation totalling £2 billion would be a "great start" despite the fact it is estimated policyholders lost more than £4 billion.
He said: "If we take the number of £4 billion to £4.8 billion and go to the lower end of that, £4 billion, what can the Government really afford? I have said that they are announcing 75%, or at least 25% reductions in other government departments. So that must be a good starting point. However, if you look at the £4 billion, what's the right thing that government must do? I think ... £2 billion, minimum £2 billion for policyholders. That would be a great start."
Pop star George Michael is starting an eight-week prison sentence after crashing his Range Rover while high on cannabis.
The 47-year-old, whose real name is Georgios Panayiotou, was found slumped at the wheel of his car after it ploughed into a branch of Snappy Snaps in north London in July.
Michael, who has a previous conviction for the same offence, was told by District Judge John Perkins there was no option but jail.
The former Wham! star admitted driving while unfit through drugs and possessing two cannabis cigarettes when he appeared at London's Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court last month.
Police who banged on the window found him "spaced out" and with no memory of what had happened.
Blood tests showed he had chemicals linked to cannabis in his system.
The singer sighed heavily as District Judge Perkins said he would serve four weeks in prison and spend the remainder on licence.
Michael was also banned from driving for five years and ordered to pay a £1,250 fine, £100 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
One fan sobbed in the public gallery as he was taken down from the dock by security guards.
More than five million people in the UK earn less than a low pay threshold, highlighting the huge level of wage inequality in the country, according to a new report.
The TUC said many workers have to put in long hours to earn enough money to meet their basic needs as it launched a report on the "quest" for a living wage.
The study showed that 5.3 million people - more than a fifth of all employees - fall below a low pay threshold put at £6.75 an hour for a single person, almost £1 more than the national minimum wage of £5.80.
The number of people falling below the threshold is one of the highest in Europe, hitting the economy and fuelling wage inequality, said the report.
Since 1997, the poorest 10% of households have seen their weekly incomes fall by £9 a week and as real wages have fallen, the gap between what workers earned and what they needed had been increasingly filled by debt, said the report.
The TUC warned that some bosses were using the current economic problems as a "smokescreen" to freeze the pay of workers.
TUC deputy general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "The living wage campaign has made enormous strides since 2001, taking thousands of families out of poverty and helping to boost fragile local economies in cities that have adopted living wage policies.
"Government ministers, public authorities, businesses and the City have seen the moral and practical benefits of paying a living wage. This is not a luxury in a time of economic downturn, but the key to building a fair, equitable and sustainable recovery."
Ben Whittaker of the National Union of Students said: "It is very hard for anyone looking for a job at the moment and many people, particularly graduates and other young people, are being asked to work for low pay in order to get experience in their chosen field.
"It is vital that employers pay a living wage to all their employees so that everyone can earn enough money to pay for essential goods and services."
A major review of how police handle rape cases has been shelved amid efforts by the Government to save money.
The study by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) had been prompted by a series of high profile blunders by detectives.
The Home Office insisted funding for the probe was withdrawn in June because it would merely have "duplicated" other reviews by Baroness Stern and Sara Payne.
HMIC is still carrying out research into reoffending issues, which will be paid for out of its own budgets.
But the news could raise fresh questions over the impact of government budget cuts on law and order. Home Secretary Theresa May is due to address the Police Superintendents' Association amid warnings from a police chief that extreme reductions could result in crime-fighting "Armageddon".
Last year it emerged that John Worboys, a London taxi driver, had been left free to attack hundreds of women because officers did not believe victims' reports of being assaulted.
Weeks after Worboys was jailed, Kirk Reid was convicted of more than 20 attacks, including two rapes. He had apparently come to the police's attention 12 times before he was arrested and charged.
Following the cases, HMIC announced that it would carry out a full audit of how victims were treated. The study - financed with £441,000 from the Home Office - was to scrutinise rape investigations from beginning to end, including how police built their cases and dealt with those accused.
Dave Gee, an adviser to the Government on rape, told a national newspaper that abandoning the scheme was short-sighted and momentum was being lost on improving investigation methods. "Despite the advice to investigators and prosecutors to try to build cases, and thus the credibility of the victim, there is little evidence of this being applied routinely. It results in a majority of discontinued cases."
He said some forces were already reviewing rape investigations in the expectation of funding shortfalls. "There are signs that the future may not be encouraging," Mr Gee said.
