![Image]( "Mother hails Sarah's Law roll-out")
The mother of schoolgirl Sarah Payne has applauded the introduction of a scheme that seeks to protect children from paedophiles in the county where her daughter was killed 10 years ago.
Sara Payne said she looked forward to the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, popularly known as Sarah's Law, being rolled out nationwide.
Sussex Police has became one of more than 20 police forces to introduce the initiative, which allows parents to ask police if someone with contact with their children is a convicted paedophile.
Child protection campaigner Ms Payne said: "We welcome Sussex on board and hope that they find this to be another welcome tool in the child protection box. We look forward to Sarah's Law being national and then it won't matter where you live, you will be able to have access to the scheme."
A year-long trial of the initiative began in September 2008 involving four police forces -: Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, Hampshire and Warwickshire.
Sussex is one of the first forces to be part of the initial roll-out and it is expected that every force in England and Wales will operate the scheme by the end of next March.
It is a watered-down version of laws in the United States under which details of where convicted paedophiles live are actively publicised.
Ms Payne, whose eight-year-old daughter was found in a field near Pulborough, West Sussex, after she was killed by convicted paedophile Roy Whiting in July 2000, led a high-profile campaign calling for a British equivalent.
Under the Home Office scheme, parents can ask police about anyone with access to their children and officers will reveal details confidentially if they think it is in the child's interests. Police may also warn parents if concerns are raised by grandparents or neighbours.
As well as in Sussex, the scheme is also being rolled out this autumn in Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Wiltshire, Cheshire, Durham, Northumbria, Dorset, Lincolnshire, Surrey and Gloucestershire. It is already running in West Mercia, Bedfordshire, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Thames Valley, West Midlands, Essex and Suffolk, and still operating in the pilot areas.
Business leaders have warned the Government that plans to abolish the default retirement age (DRA) would have a "significant" effect on employers, especially smaller firms.
The Institute of Directors argued in favour of keeping the device that allows companies to retire their workers at 65, saying a better option would be to raise the DRA progressively in line with life expectancy over time to 70.
Employers will be forced to dismiss employees if they want to remove "under-performing" staff over the age of 65, leading to an "undignified" end to some careers, said the IoD.
Miles Templeman, the IoD's director general, said: "The Government's proposal to abolish the DRA tells us that ministers are less focused than they should be on supporting entrepreneurs and the business community.
"Removing the DRA, which gives employers flexibility in managing employees, is incompatible with the Government's stated desire to boost enterprise and create new jobs.
"In this era of high unemployment the Government should be making it easier for businesses to employ people, not harder."
Foreign Secretary William Hague is set to urge Israel to renew a moratorium on settlement building in the West Bank amid fears the expiry of the 10-month ban could scupper Middle East peace efforts.
Mr Hague said there is "widespread international concern" that the issue could derail the latest direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Intense US-led efforts to rescue the dialogue are continuing and Mr Hague will press the case in meetings at the United Nations with his American and Israeli counterparts.
Israeli settlers said that they will slowly resume building new Jewish homes in West Bank settlements - just hours after a construction ban which helped jump-start Middle East peace talks expired.
Mayor Oded Revivi, in the Efrat settlement, said banks and developers were reluctant to get into commitments, fearing construction would be stopped again.
Palestinians threatened to walk out of the recently resumed negotiations if the building continues, though Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signalled that he will not immediately quit the peace talks.
US-led efforts to work out a compromise over the weekend failed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Mr Abbas to keep negotiating.
There was no Palestinian announcement about the future of the talks although they asked for a meeting of an Arab League body on October 4 to discuss the situation.
Earlier, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the UN Israel "must choose between peace and the continuation of settlements".
Mr Hague, who is attending the UN's General Assembly in New York, said: "Britain has consistently called on the Israeli government to extend the moratorium on settlement construction, and I renew that call today."
Migraine sufferers have been offered new hope after researchers identified a faulty gene responsible for the debilitating headaches.
The finding could lead to better treatment and improve the quality of life for the one in five people who have the neurological disorder.
Scientists at the University of Oxford, along with colleagues in Canada, took DNA samples from migraines sufferers and their families.
They found that if a gene called Tresk is defective it can trigger pain nerves in the brain and cause a severe headache.
The discovery explains why people in the same family often suffer from the condition and could lead to new drugs that can switch off the pain.
Dr Zameel Cader, from the Medical Research Council's Functional Genomics Unit at the University of Oxford, said: "We have now made a major step forward in our understanding of why people suffer with migraine and how in certain cases, your family can literally give you a headache.
"Previous studies have identified parts of our DNA that increase the risk in the general population but have not found genes which can be directly responsible for common migraine. What we've found is that migraines seem to depend on how sensitive our nerves are in the pain centres of the brain.
"This finding should help lead to the key player which controls this excitability and will give us a real opportunity to find a new way to fight migraines and improve the quality of life for those suffering."
The World Health Organisation rates migraine as a leading cause of disability worldwide and it is estimated to be the most costly neurological disorder in Europe.
The study, published in Nature Medicine, was funded by the Medical Research Council, Genome Canada, Genome Quebec, Emerillon Therapeutics, the Wellcome Trust and Pfizer.
Government guidance on dealing with the overseas torture of detainees may breach international law and leave intelligence and military personnel exposed to legal challenge, a human rights watchdog has warned.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has written to David Cameron and security chiefs threatening legal action unless the wording is amended to comply with the UK's obligations.
It also called for a forthcoming inquiry into allegations of British complicity in torture of terror suspects to be held in public wherever possible and its findings to be made public.
The Prime Minister announced the inquiry on July 6 after claims that former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed was tortured with the knowledge of the British security services while held by the CIA in Pakistan.
A number of other former detainees have since brought legal action against the UK Government, claiming they were subjected to similar mistreatment with the knowledge of MI5 or MI6.
Allegations have also been made of UK involvement in the extra-judicial transfer, or rendition, of terror suspects between countries since the 9/11 attacks on the US.
The guidance was drawn up in the wake of the complaints and published alongside the inquiry announcement. However, EHRC legal director John Wadham wrote to Mr Cameron and senior cabinet ministers expressing "serious concerns about the lawfulness of the guidance...and to request its amendment".
In separate letters to the heads of MI5 and MI6, Commission chairman Trevor Phillips said the advice was "unhelpful" to officers on the ground and could unwittingly leave them "personally liable for aiding and abetting torture".
The watchdog warned Mr Cameron that it intended to exercise its legal right to issue judicial review proceedings "if no satisfactory response" was received by a deadline of 5pm this Thursday, September 30.
The Government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Lord Carlile, criticised the commission for proposing to use taxpayers' money on a court case: "What I'm concerned about is the use of taxpayers' money by the EHRC to sue the Government. I would have thought that the EHRC could use taxpayers' money more beneficially by putting in a submission to Sir Peter Gibson."
A "landslide" of legal claims could be taken against employers who do not assess the effect on women workers of public sector job cuts, a leading trade union has warned.
Unison said cuts would have a disproportionate effect on women, who made up most of public sector employees.
The union said it will use an equality duty on employers to take legal action against any not carrying out equality impact assessments before cutting jobs and public services.
General secretary Dave Prentis said: "The vast majority of Unison members are women and we have spent decades fighting for equal pay and to ensure that women are treated fairly in the workplace. We will not stand back and see all that work undone by councils cutting jobs indiscriminately.
"The battle for Britain's public services could tie up our already overstretched legal system for decades, if employers do not carry out equality impact assessments.
"It is easy to see that women are literally in the firing line when it comes to public sector job cuts and that is not acceptable.
"Despite decades of pressure from Unison the public sector pay gap between men and women is still 21%. The pay freeze and services cuts threaten to widen that gulf even further.
"The Government must take account of the impact of public spending cuts on women and rethink their strategy."
A teenager has earned his place in the history books after becoming the youngest qualified cricket umpire in Britain - at the age of 15.
Ethan Peel has been studying for a BTEC Intermediate certificate in cricket umpiring at Oxford Brookes University as part of an initiative by the International Institute of Cricket Umpiring and Scoring (IICUS) to recruit young officials.
GCSE student Ethan, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, had already completed modules on the laws of the game and field management, man management and duty of care.
And on Saturday he finished the final phase of the qualification when he independently umpired a friendly match between Tiddington and London-based Nomads in Oxfordshire. Tiddington won by four runs, 225 to 221.
Afterwards, Ethan, a Year 11 student at Wallingford School, said: "It's a good job that I've got parents who get me to games and a supportive coach who has really helped.
"I hope that what I've achieved will lead on to other young lads getting involved in umpiring. I only started out last year after my father told me about the course at Oxford Brookes.
"I've rolled on from there, doing classroom-based studies and then umpiring 15 to 20 games at adult and youth level this year. It has been good.
"It would be nice to progress on to umpiring professional cricket but I'm taking it all one step at a time."
His proud father, John, said: "He did really well. He got some really good feedback afterwards and now it's a case of waiting for the paperwork to be completed."
The BTEC, accredited by independent educational validation body Edexcel, owned by Pearson, has been running for four years with around 200 participants in the UK.
A British Army engineer working with special forces in Afghanistan has been killed by a Taliban roadside bomb.
Corporal Matthew Thomas, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, died when the vehicle he was driving was hit by an improvised explosive device in the Garmsir district of Helmand province on Saturday.
It is understood that Cpl Thomas, known as "Tommo", was attached to the Special Forces Support Group.
His comrades paid tribute to an "intelligent, dedicated and courageous" soldier.
A spokesman for the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers said: "Though still a young man, he was a natural leader setting the highest standards, showing enormous moral strength, and nurturing those under his command at every turn. His ready smile, natural exuberance and 'can do' attitude were much prized by all with whom he worked, and were testament to how he loved his profession.
"He revelled in the responsibility, challenges and opportunities presented to him as a vehicle mechanic on operations in Afghanistan.
"And for their part the troops whom he supported so ably wholeheartedly embraced 'Tommo', as he was fondly called.
"He died alongside these comrades, with whom such a bond had been built and who meant so much to him. His passing is a sad day for us but we must count ourselves privileged to have served with such a talented, rounded and inspirational man."
The MoD said it was not releasing any more details about the soldier.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: "Corporal Matthew Thomas has made the ultimate sacrifice protecting the national security of our country. His colleagues have praised a dedicated and courageous man, who was a professional and inspirational soldier. I was deeply saddened to learn of his death, and I extend my sincere condolences to his family and loved ones at this difficult time."
The Royal Bank of Scotland is to axe around 500 jobs.
Most of the losses are expected to be back office roles within the investment banking arm.
The proposed cuts come after the part-nationalised bank announced 3,500 positions would go earlier this month. This followed the division's 9,000 job cuts announced last year.
In a statement, RBS said: "In response to changing market conditions, we have made efficiencies across our business to ensure that we have the right people and resources in place to meet our client needs.
"We will do all we can to support our staff, offer redeployment opportunities wherever possible, and keep compulsory redundancies to an absolute minimum."
The UK economy is on the mend and "recovery is under way", a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.
In its annual healthcheck on the British economy, the IMF backed the coalition Government's deficit-busting austerity measures, calling Chancellor George Osborne's plans "credible" and "essential".
The body also predicted economic growth of 2% in 2011, although this was lower than its previous estimate of 2.1%, and predicted the rate of inflation would fall back to its 2% target by early 2012.
The IMF's endorsement of the Government's plans to tackle the UK's creaking public finances comes less than a month before the Chancellor sets out his comprehensive spending review.
The IMF statement said: "The plan greatly reduces the risk of a costly loss of confidence in public finances and supports a balanced recovery.
"Fiscal tightening will dampen short-term growth but not stop it as other sectors of the economy emerge as drivers of recovery, supported by continued monetary stimulus."
A spokesman for the Treasury said: "Last year the IMF said Government borrowing was a risk to the recovery. This year the IMF's verdict is that the economy is on the mend and that the Government's deficit reduction plan is essential and will ensure the sustainability of the public finances, tackling the highest deficit in the G7."
The IMF said policymakers at the Bank of England would need to be "nimble" if risks to the economic recovery emerged.
The Bank is currently holding interest rates at an all-time low of 0.5%, and has pumped £200 billion into the economy through its quantitative easing programme.
In its meeting earlier this month the Monetary Policy Committee said it was leaning towards further emergency measures to prop up the economic recovery, and was poised to act.
The Northumbria Police officer blinded by gunman Raoul Moat said it is time for the British public to "step up to the plate" to support emergency services personnel injured in the line of duty.
Pc David Rathband, who is raising funds for the Blue Lamp Foundation, has organised a sponsored blindfold walk on October 3.
Hundreds of people have already signed up for the event, to be held along the Northumberland coast.
The injured officer was speaking at Blyth Rugby and Cricket Club, where he used to play cricket.
He said: "The philosophy is to have a nice friendly walk with people who care about their environment and about what happens in that environment.
"Early on there was a class of people who were hailing Moat as a legend or some sort of hero, and I never commented on it. But it is not right what happened to me and it is not for any person serving - whether as a policeman, in the fire brigade or as a paramedic - to suffer a criminal injury at work.
"The walk is for the kind of right-minded people who think that what happened to me is wrong. There are people out there who put their lives on the line and it is time for the British public to step up to the plate and support us."
Pc Rathband was shot in July by on-the-run murderer Moat while he was on duty. The 42-year-old lost the sight in both eyes after he was blasted while sitting unarmed in a patrol car on an A1 roundabout on July 4.
Pc Rathband likened the shooting to having his "head inside a tin can with the biggest firework you can imagine. It was absolutely unbearable".
But he insisted he has "no malice towards the man who shot me".
David Miliband has pleaded with Labour not to turn the leadership struggle into the kind of "soap opera" that disfigured the Blair and Brown era.
Making his first appearance on the conference stage in Manchester since his narrow defeat, the shadow foreign secretary called on the party to unite behind his younger brother Ed.
But he also fuelled speculation over his own future by failing to commit to serving on Labour's top team.
Mr Miliband received a warm welcome when he emerged to face the party that rejected him, with his brother joining the standing ovation from the platform.
But he made clear that he had no intention of being a thorn in the side of the new leadership despite his obvious disappointment. While he had been "100% committed" to fighting for the leadership, he had gone into the contest "reconciled to the prospect" that he might lose, he said.
Referring to the Blair-Brown conflict that constantly threatened to tear the party apart during its 13 years in power, he insisted: "No more cliques, no more factions, no more soap opera - one united Labour Party taking on a divided Government. We have a great new leader and we all have to get behind him. I am really, really, really proud. I am so proud of my campaign. I am so proud of my party. But above all I am incredibly proud of my brother."
Mr Miliband has until 5pm on Wednesday to decide whether to put forward his name for the shadow cabinet elections, which are expected to involve 50 or more MPs chasing 19 slots around Mr Miliband's top table. The results of the poll are due on October 7.
Ed Miliband has said he regarded Alistair Darling's plan to halve Britain's deficit within four years as a "starting point" which he hoped to "improve" on, leading to speculation that he might scale back the cuts envisaged by the former chancellor.
Mr Darling, who is standing down from the shadow cabinet, told delegates he was confident Mr Miliband would maintain a "credible" plan which kept Labour on the "centre ground". "We cannot ignore the deficit. That would be as foolish as standing back and doing nothing when the crisis hit. We had in place tough plans to halve borrowing within four years," he said.
Delivering what is likely to be his final speech to conference as a frontbencher, Mr Darling went on: "Our approach is measured - and balanced. What we did over the last two years has worked. That's why our economy is growing, why borrowing is coming down. To abandon that balanced approach, as the Tories and Liberals are doing, will put tens of thousands of jobs at risk, and hit the living standards of millions of families in this country."
Savers should be ready to "eat into" their reserve funds to help them through the current period of low interest rates, a senior Bank of England official has said.
Deputy Governor Charlie Bean said that the Bank was deliberately keeping rates low in the hope that British families will go out and spend money to inject vigour into the economy.
He appeared to indicate that historically low interest rates could continue for years rather than months, saying only that he would not expect them to remain close to zero for a decade or more.
The Bank of England has kept base interest rates at 0.5% for a year and a half. The next decision will be made next week.
The record low rates have helped mortgage-holders during the recession - particularly those on tracker deals - but have made life difficult for people who rely on income from savings, many of whom are pensioners. Official statistics suggest that borrowers have gained by around £26 billion, while savers have lost out to the tune of £18 billion in reduced interest.
Mr Bean, who sits on the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee which sets interest rates, told Channel 4 News: "What we're trying to do by our policy is encourage more spending. Ideally we'd like to see that in the form of more business spending, but part of the mechanism that might encourage that is having more household spending so in the short term we want to see households not saving more but spending more."
Mr Bean said he "fully sympathised" with savers who are losing out from the low rates.
But he added: "I think it needs to be said that savers shouldn't necessarily expect to be able to live just off their income in times when interest rates are low. It may make sense for them to eat into their capital a bit."
Many of those facing a squeeze because of lower rates were "older households (which) have actually benefited from the fact that they've seen capital gains on their houses", he said. "It's very much swings and roundabouts. At the current juncture, savers might be suffering as a result of bank rate being at low levels but there will be times in the future - as there have been times in the past - when they will be doing very well out of the fact that interest rates are at a relatively high level and I think that's something that savers should bear in mind."
Asked if near-zero interest rates were now "the new normal", Mr Bean said: "I would certainly not expect the level of bank rates to stay very close to zero for a decade or more."
Lawyers for Iraqis who say they were abused by British troops have issued judicial review proceedings against the Government over new guidelines on interrogating suspects overseas.
Prime Minister David Cameron announced fresh guidance in July intended to ensure that UK intelligence officers and military personnel are not involved or complicit in the torture of detainees held by foreign powers.
But lawyers representing 34 Iraqis who claim they were mistreated by British forces after the 2003 invasion which overthrew Saddam Hussein said the guidelines "explicitly permit" the hooding of prisoners.
Launching a legal challenge, they pointed to the case of Iraqi hotel receptionist Baha Mousa, 26, who was hooded for a total of nearly 24 hours before his death in UK military custody in Basra, southern Iraq, in September 2003.
A public inquiry into what happened to Mr Mousa has heard that interrogation techniques banned by the Government in 1972 - including hooding, sleep deprivation and making them stand in painful stress positions - were used on Iraqi prisoners.
Phil Shiner, from Birmingham-based Public Interest Lawyers, said: "The Government's new torture guidance was supposed to signal a break with the past. Instead, it has taken a giant step backwards.
"Until July 6, the Government had banned hooding since its catastrophic use in Northern Ireland in 1972. The re-emergence of this practice was critical in Baha Mousa's death.
"The Government does Baha Mousa and the inquiry into his death a disservice by presuming to re-introduce this barbaric practice even before that inquiry has a chance to report."
Armed siege barrister Mark Saunders put his shotgun into a non-firing position as he was killed by a volley of police bullets, an inquest has heard.
Firearms expert Robert Griffiths examined his 12-bore Beretta shotgun and footage of the 32-year-old's death at the hands of Metropolitan Police firearms officers.
He concluded the gunman switched a lever to open the breech of the weapon after he was hit by the first of five bullets fired by police surrounding his Chelsea home.
Westminster Coroner's Court heard it is impossible to say whether the action was intentional as the family law specialist collapsed with catastrophic injuries.
The inquest heard the shotgun did not contain any ammunition when it was recovered but any cartridges may have fallen out as the weapon opened. Mr Griffiths, of the Forensic Science Service, said used and unused cartridges were found strewn across the floor of the Markham Square property.
Under cross-examination by Patrick Gibbs QC, who represents Mr Saunders' widow Elizabeth, the expert said the gunman's hand could be seen close to a lever that opened the weapon.
Mr Gibbs said: "It looks as though he was either opening or just at the moment of opening the gun when he was shot." Mr Griffiths replied: "That is correct, but I cannot say what his intentions were or were not at that time."
Mr Gibbs added: "Of course, we are all geniuses after the event, but in the open position the gun could not fire."
Forensic experts blasted a slab of pork belly with a shotgun from 23 metres to find out if Mr Saunders could have killed any of the officers near his kitchen window. The inquest heard pellets penetrated through the meat, chosen because of its similarity to human tissue, suggesting any injury could have been fatal.
Alcoholic Mr Saunders was killed after sparking a five-hour stand-off with police when he fired his gun through a window during a solitary drinking binge on May 6, 2008.
US negotiators have been given a week to broker a deal keeping the Middle East peace talks on track.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said he would wait at least until next Monday before deciding whether to pull out the talks following the end of the temporary Israeli ban on West Bank settlement construction, giving a breathing space for the US mediators to produce a compromise.
Mr Abbas said he would consult the Palestinian leadership before discussing it with the 22-member Arab League next week.
"We will not have any quick reactions," he said. "After this chain of meetings, we will be able to put out a position that clarifies the Palestinian and Arab opinion on this issue now that Israel has refused to freeze settlements."
The building restrictions expired at midnight on Sunday with no sign Israel was heeding US and Palestinian pressure to keep them in place.
That threw the peace talks, which only restarted three weeks ago, into doubt. But the Americans said they were still working with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to find a formula that would keep the negotiations alive.
The Obama administration's special Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell is returning to the region to add urgency to efforts to break the deadlock.
Mr Abbas had urged Israel to extend the settlement slowdown for three or four more months to allow for a discussion of "fundamental issues" in negotiations.
Jewish settlers in the West Bank marked the end of the building curbs by sending thousands of blue and while balloons - the colours of the Israeli flag - into the air and starting work on a new kindergarten. They vowed to build thousands of new homes.
Large supermarket chains would benefit from a £700 million windfall if minimum pricing for alcohol was introduced across the UK, new research has indicated.
Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket, stands to reap the most rewards, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
The think-tank researched the likely impact of a 45p minimum unit price for alcohol - the controversial measure proposed by the Scottish Government but recently rejected by opposition parties.
IFS said such a policy would benefit retailers rather than the public purse, echoing an argument critics of minimum pricing have used against the measure.
The stores which sell the most alcohol - Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's - stand to gain the most from it.
Researchers also said that - in relative terms - the biggest beneficiaries would be the discount supermarket chains such as Lidl and Aldi which sell alcohol most cheaply.
Stores which do not sell much cheap alcohol - Waitrose and Marks & Spencer - stand to gain relatively little.
Researchers also suggested minimum pricing would have the greatest impact on households which consume the most alcohol.
The think-tank proposes higher taxation which mimics the impact of minimum pricing but generates revenue for the Government rather than retailers.
European directives mean that although it is currently possible to tax the number of units for beer and spirits, it is not possible to do so for wine and cider.
The mother of schoolgirl Sarah Payne has applauded the introduction of a scheme that seeks to protect children from paedophiles in the county where her daughter was killed 10 years ago.
Sara Payne said she looked forward to the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, popularly known as Sarah's Law, being rolled out nationwide.
Sussex Police has became one of more than 20 police forces to introduce the initiative, which allows parents to ask police if someone with contact with their children is a convicted paedophile.
Child protection campaigner Ms Payne said: "We welcome Sussex on board and hope that they find this to be another welcome tool in the child protection box. We look forward to Sarah's Law being national and then it won't matter where you live, you will be able to have access to the scheme."
A year-long trial of the initiative began in September 2008 involving four police forces -: Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, Hampshire and Warwickshire.
Sussex is one of the first forces to be part of the initial roll-out and it is expected that every force in England and Wales will operate the scheme by the end of next March.
It is a watered-down version of laws in the United States under which details of where convicted paedophiles live are actively publicised.
Ms Payne, whose eight-year-old daughter was found in a field near Pulborough, West Sussex, after she was killed by convicted paedophile Roy Whiting in July 2000, led a high-profile campaign calling for a British equivalent.
Under the Home Office scheme, parents can ask police about anyone with access to their children and officers will reveal details confidentially if they think it is in the child's interests. Police may also warn parents if concerns are raised by grandparents or neighbours.
As well as in Sussex, the scheme is also being rolled out this autumn in Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Wiltshire, Cheshire, Durham, Northumbria, Dorset, Lincolnshire, Surrey and Gloucestershire. It is already running in West Mercia, Bedfordshire, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Thames Valley, West Midlands, Essex and Suffolk, and still operating in the pilot areas.
Labour are more popular than the Tories for the first time in three years, according to a new poll.
Support for Labour has risen to 40% while that for the Conservative Party is now on 39%, according to the YouGov survey for The Sun.
The Liberal Democrats are still languishing on 12%, after a significant slump in support since forming the coalition Government with the Tories in May.
Labour's one-point lead is smaller than the margin of error and may be the temporary consequence of media coverage of the party's recent annual conference in Manchester.
It will nevertheless hearten MPs and activists and embolden newly-elected leader Ed Miliband amid warnings that his victory - after a left-leaning campaign made successful by union support - would cost Labour mainstream voters.
The poll, conducted on 1,948 adults on September 26 and 27, is the first survey of voting intentions since Mr Miliband defeated his elder brother David on Saturday evening in the race to succeed Gordon Brown.
It is the first time Labour have led the Tories since October 2007, when then prime minister Mr Brown was on the brink of holding an election before changing his mind at the eleventh hour.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted for the Conservative Party by pollsters Populus suggested that voters preferred David to Ed Miliband as Labour leader.
After being shown the two brothers' campaign videos ahead of Saturday's result, 53% thought David was up to the job of prime minister compared to 36% for Ed.
In the survey, in which 2,011 adults were questioned between September 3 and 5 and which was seen by The Times, voters rated David at 6.6 out of 10 for charisma, against Ed's 5.1.
The BBC was forced to pull an edition of its Panorama programme about the financial affairs of controversial Tory backer Lord Ashcroft just hours before it was broadcast.
The show - meant to have gone out on Monday night - was withdrawn after receiving a response earlier in the day to a question about a share interest transfer, the broadcaster said.
The BBC said the answer "shed new light" on the issue and it would be reviewing the programme.
Billionaire Lord Ashcroft helped to finance the Conservative election campaign.
He was dragged into a tax row earlier this year after confirming he had "non-dom" status and had not been paying UK income tax on his worldwide earnings.
Earlier this month it emerged he would be standing down as the party's deputy chairman.
Monday night's Panorama was replaced with another edition about UK military justice.
A BBC spokesman said: "We put a number of questions to Lord Ashcroft two weeks ago, including one relating to a share interest transfer.
"We asked for a response by Friday September 24. In a response received (on Monday) afternoon we have been given information that sheds new light on that issue and we will therefore review the programme."
The number of official warnings given to UK doctors has risen by nearly 50% in the past two years, figures have revealed.
The General Medical Council issued 262 reprimands last year, up from 179 in 2007, according to a Freedom of Information request by the BBC.
More than 130 cases last year involved drink-driving, it said, with warnings also given for assaults, breaches of the peace, disorderly behaviour and driving without tax, insurance or a licence.
The reprimands are used for offences that do not warrant being suspended or struck off.
The GMC said it was going to look into the rise, which was partly fuelled by a growing number of referrals from public officials such as NHS staff and police.
A spokesman said it was right to consider cases "where public trust in the profession could be damaged", adding: "The numbers still represent a very small proportion of the 230,000 registered doctors in the UK."
