![Image]( "Iraqis on trial over Red Cap deaths")
Two Iraqis are to go on trial for the murders of six British military policemen more than seven years ago.
The Red Caps were killed when a mob of about 400 people attacked a police station in Majar al-Kabir, southern Iraq, in June 2003.
Hamza Hateer and Mussa Ismael al Fartusi will stand trial for their murder at the central criminal court in Baghdad.
The judge adjourned a hearing last month to give more witnesses time to travel, and it is uncertain whether the case will go ahead.
Relatives of those killed have fought a long campaign for those responsible to be brought to justice, and there was little progress in the case until the Iraqi authorities took eight people into custody in February this year.
Six of the suspects later walked free and there are a number of outstanding arrest warrants, but the families of the six Red Caps have cautiously welcomed the start of the trial.
John Hyde, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, whose son Lance Corporal Benjamin Hyde, 23, was one of the victims, said: "It's progress but it's slow progress."
The Red Caps had been training local Iraqi officers when the police station came under attack on June 24 2003. An inquest in March 2006 heard that some of their bodies were found riddled with bullets, while others had marks that suggested they had been dragged, tied up or beaten with rifles.
Coroner Nicholas Gardiner recorded a narrative verdict of unlawful killing, saying the six soldiers should have been better equipped but their deaths could not have been avoided.
The other victims were Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, from Chessington, Surrey; Corporal Russell Aston, 30, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire; Corporal Paul Long, 24, of South Shields, Tyne and Wear; Lance Corporal Tom Keys, 20, from Bala, North Wales; and Corporal Simon Miller, 21, from Washington, Tyne and Wear.
A sculpture has been unveiled to celebrate the life of John Lennon, on what would have been the music legend's 70th birthday.
The monument designed to promote world peace was revealed at a ceremony in the late Beatle's home town of Liverpool by his first wife Cynthia and their son Julian.
They thanked the hundreds of people who gathered in the city centre's Chavasse Park and told them to celebrate Lennon's life.
Julian, 47, said to the crowd: "We come here with our hearts to honour Dad and to pray for peace and say "thank you" to each and every one of you, and everybody involved in the celebrations today.
"From our hearts, real love, and thank you."
Cynthia, 71, who met Lennon at Liverpool Art College, told people not to be sad, but to enjoy his life.
She said: "I think the mourning is over for John. I think it's time to celebrate, which is what we're doing.
"Think about his life that was positive and good and just enjoy that.
"Don't be morbid, enjoy the joy that he had and what we all have from his music."
The pair cut a white ribbon to reveal a colourful sculpture with symbols of peace.
Every effort was made to safely rescue a kidnapped British aid worker who was killed in Afghanistan during an attempt to free her, military commanders and the UK government have said.
Linda Norgrove, 36, originally from Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, was seized by militants in Kunar province on September 26, alongside three Afghan nationals.
Described as "courageous" and an "inspiration", she was killed by her captors during an operation to rescue her.
International Security Assistance Force Commander General David Petraeus said: "Afghan and coalition security forces did everything in their power to rescue Linda. Linda was a courageous person with a passion to improve the lives of Afghan people, and sadly she lost her life in their service. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time."
Foreign Secretary William Hague also said Nato allies and Afghan authorities did all they could to save her life, explaining the decision was made to send troops in to free Ms Norgrove "given the danger she was in".
It is thought that no British forces were involved in the failed rescue attempt, in which seven insurgents were also understood to have been killed.
Mr Hague said: "It is a tragedy that Linda was taken whilst doing the job she loved in a country she loved. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this terrible time."
A former United Nations employee, Ms Norgrove was working for the firm Development Alternatives Inc at the time of her kidnap. Based in Jalalabad, she supervised reconstruction programmes in the eastern region of Afghanistan funded by the US government.
She was abducted by insurgents as she travelled in a convoy of two vehicles in Kunar province. Local police chased the kidnappers but lost them after a brief firefight. The three Afghan nationals were released last week, but Ms Norgrove continued to be held amid growing concern for her life.
Mr Hague said that allies were tipped off where the Scottish hostage was being held and that "given the danger she was facing, her best chance of safe release was to act on that information". He added: "Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the hostage takers. From the moment they took her, her life was under grave threat. Given who held her, and the danger she was in, we judged that Linda's best chance lay in attempting to rescue her."
Lottery officials are still waiting to make a lucky British jackpot winner an instant multi-millionaire with a fortune to match rock stars.
So far nobody has come forward to claim the record-breaking £113 million EuroMillions prize and the winner may spend the entire weekend unaware how their lives have changed, Camelot said.
A UK ticket-holder - who could be an individual or a syndicate - scooped the top prize in the latest draw, making it the country's largest ever lottery win.
By matching the winning numbers 9, 30, 35, 39, 46, with lucky stars 6 and 8, the overnight millionaire joins the ranks of the rich and famous, with pots of cash to lavish on luxury homes, yachts, cars or other extravagances.
The ticket-holder will immediately become the 589th wealthiest person in Britain, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2010.
With a tax-free prize of £113 million, their wealth will eclipse the likes of pop stars Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, who are said to be worth £110 million, Phil Collins, who has a fortune of £108 million, Rod Stewart with £105 million and David Bowie, who has an estimated £100 million to his name.
High street banks are offering 2.75% on standard savings accounts at the moment and this would net the winner £8,500 a day in interest alone.
Until the latest draw, the largest lottery winner in the UK was an anonymous player who scooped £84.4 million on the EuroMillions draw in May.
A Camelot spokeswoman said: "This is fantastic news - we're absolutely delighted to have such a massive UK win. This is the biggest lottery jackpot prize ever paid out to an individual in this country. We have plenty of champagne on ice and are looking forward to welcoming the lucky ticket-holder to the National Lottery millionaires' club."
Nigel Page and Justine Laycock, from Barnsley, Gloucestershire, previously broke the record in February after winning £56 million on EuroMillions.
Detectives have charged a woman with the murder of an 82-year-old widower who disappeared shortly after moving house.
Ann Browning, 53, from Miltons Crescent, Ockford Ridge, Surrey, is accused of the murder of Bill Williamson.
She is due to appear at Guildford Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Her 30-year-old son, who was also arrested in connection with the investigation, has been released on police bail pending further inquiries.
A body found in the garden of an address in Miltons Crescent is believed to be that of Mr Williamson, who was last seen alive on September 10, but this has not been confirmed by police.
Mr Williamson used to live in Church Road, Milford, near Godalming, but moved to Miltons Crescent in early September after selling his own home.
A post-mortem examination on the body was carried out but the results were inconclusive.
Formal identification of the body has yet to take place,a Surrey police spokesman said.
Hundreds of scientists protested outside the Treasury to demand that research budgets are protected from Government cuts.
With the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review less than two weeks away, the lively protesters chanted and sang their message asking Chancellor George Osborne to Save British Science.
The rally was organised by the Science is Vital campaign and a number of speakers talked about the risk of a so-called brain drain if talent leaves Britain following cuts.
One song replaced the words to Bruce Channel's Hey! Baby with the message "Hey Osborne, we wanna know if you'll fund our work". A second used Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall with the final call "Hey Osborne, leave our geeks alone" which even got applause from a solitary figure watching from inside the Treasury.
Despite the upbeat atmosphere, the message was serious with speakers warning that cuts could halt progress and lose Britain its place at the forefront of scientific research.
Science is Vital was created by Dr Jenny Rohn, a cell biologist at University College London, who told the gathering: "They really are thinking of dismantling UK science. It makes absolutely no sense. Science is a wonderful thing for society, we cure diseases, we build bridges, we make buildings, we send things into space, we do all these things that make our culture so great and Britain has punched above its weight."
Imran Khan, director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering the UK, said the UK was looking to make cuts in science while other countries were investing for the future.
"With the numbers being bandied about - and we've heard 20%, 30% cuts to science investment - we could be on the verge of a catastrophic collapse in our science and engineering base. And I'm not over-reacting here. By the time it's obvious to the Government what they have done, it will be too late."
Science is Vital has collected 24,000 signatures on its petition opposing funding cuts and the campaign is supported by famous names like astronomer Sir Patrick Moore and comedian Dara O'Briain, who has a degree in mathematical physics.
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: "We cannot speculate on the spending review while the process continues. The Government recognises the key role research, technology and innovation will play in rebalancing the economy and wants science to emerge from these tough economic times to be strong, sustainable and effective. We are strongly committed to making the economic case for science. But public spending on science, just like everything else has to stand up to rigorous economic scrutiny. In these austere times, the public should expect nothing less."
A British soldier killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan was a "fantastic" and "loving" husband and father, his wife has said.
Sergeant Peter Rayner, 34, from 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died while on a patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province.
The serviceman, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was born into a military family and in 1994 he joined the 1st Battalion, The King's Own Royal Border Regiment, in which his father - also called Peter - served for most of his Army career.
He had previously served in Bosnia and Iraq and died during a second tour of Afghanistan with 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, according to the MoD.
His wife Wendy said: "Fantastic loving husband and father, son, son-in-law, brother and brother-in-law, who loved his job and doing something which he believed in. He will be sincerely missed by all who knew him."
As well as his wife and son Derek, Sgt Rayner leaves his parents Peter and Bernadette.
They said Sgt Rayner was an "avid" Bradford city supporter, adding: "A keen mountain biker he was always full of energy and was someone who enjoyed life to the full. As a soldier he loved his job and was totally committed to the Army, as well as his family and friends. As a son and brother, he was a fun loving and caring person of whom we are all very proud. We loved him so dearly and will miss him with all our hearts."
Lieutenant Colonel Robbie Boyd, Commanding Officer 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, said: "He was honest, loyal and always vocal. A true Lion of England and a man of high morals, guts and integrity. A man who cared not just for the morale of his soldiers, but in how that morale was created.
"A man with great spirit and forthrightness, who was as true as his aim was with a Javelin Missile. He never let me down; always telling me the truth, always presenting a fresh opinion, always diplomatic and always underpinning our chats with his fine sense of humour.
"My heart bleeds for Wendy and Derek who are strong members of our Regimental family based in Cyprus and I know they will be supported by their many friends there. Their pain is ours and their loss is shared by us all, be it here in Afghanistan or in Cyprus."
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has admitted he had vetoed a deal two years ago for Barclays to buy troubled US investment bank Lehman Brothers, whose collapse preceded the world financial crisis.
Mr Darling said he had rejected the Barclays buyout because he knew Lehman Brothers was in deep financial trouble and he did not ultimately want the British taxpayer to be underwriting an American bank.
The demise of Lehman Brothers in 2008 was widely seen as a tipping point that triggered the world's biggest economies' descent into recession.
"I am not hostile to British banks taking over American banks or foreign banks but at the time of this crisis we knew Lehmans was in deep trouble and when I got a call on the Friday afternoon asking what the British reaction would be if Barclays took it over," Mr Darling said. "My first reaction was 'If this is such a good deal how come no American bank is going to go near it?'
"You tend to find with a good deal like that the Americans would be all over it and we wouldn't have got a look in. But when I heard America was walking away alarm bells ring."
Mr Darling was speaking as he addressed the Cheltenham Literature Festival to reflect upon his three years at the Treasury during the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Host Will Hutton asked Mr Darling whether the claims made by Hank Paulson, the former US Treasury Secretary, last year in a book were true - that he had vetoed the Barclays rescue deal.
"Yeah I did. Imagine if I had said yes to a British bank buying a very large American bank which they collapsed the following week," Mr Darling said. "Everybody sitting in this room and your children and your grandchildren and their grandchildren would be paying for years to come.
"Although there was no offer on the table at that time, I spoke to Hank Paulson and said 'Look there's no way we could allow a British bank to takeover the liability of an American bank', which in effect meant the British taxpayer was underwriting an American bank.
"As you know Lehman's collapsed that Sunday night which precipitated a whole chain of events which led to the crisis that we are talking about. Actually, although I didn't intend to do it, I did Barclays a very big favour because they picked up Lehman's for next to nothing on the Monday afternoon."
Business Secretary Vince Cable is on a collision course with his party after ruling out a new graduate tax to replace university tuition fees.
Having previously promoted the idea of a graduate tax, the Liberal Democrat minister has accepted Tory criticisms of the scheme and admits it is not the answer.
He said the coalition Government would shortly be able to announce a new system featuring a "progressive system of graduate contributions".
That is expected to mean introducing variable interest rates on student loans so that higher-earning graduates pay more towards the cost of borrowing their way through university.
An increase in the cap on tuition fees, possibly to as high a threshold as £10,000, now also seems likely.
Such a move would be deeply unpopular with the Lib Dems, who campaigned during the general election to scrap tuition fees altogether.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, now Deputy Prime Minister, said in April that increasing tuition fees would be a "disaster".
The Lib Dems reaffirmed their commitment to replacing tuition fees and loans with a graduate tax at their party conference only last month.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - which is responsible for higher education - refused to comment on the Government's plans before the publication of a review of student finance next week.
But Mr Cable renounced the idea of a graduate tax in a letter to Lib Dem and Tory MPs, saying it was "not the way forward" and adding: "While it is superficially attractive, an additional tax on graduates fails both the tests of fairness and deficit reduction."
The Home Secretary has been urged to take a personal interest in the case of X Factor reject Gamu Nhengu, who faces deportation to Zimbabwe.
The 18-year-old singer, who was booted off the ITV show last weekend, has been told she must return to her homeland after her mother Nokuthula Ngazana's visa application was turned down.
Politicians who represent Nhengu's home town of Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, have already voiced fears about the situation facing the teenager and have demanded further answers from immigration officials.
Scotland's Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop has now expressed her concerns about the case in a letter to Home Secretary Theresa May, in which she asks that any options which would allow the family to stay in Scotland are fully explored.
In the document, she spoke of the support shown to Nhengu by her local community and said the teenager had the potential to be a "great asset" to Scotland's cultural community.
She wrote: "Since 2008, Ms Ngazana has been working in Scotland on a Fresh Talent visa, a Home Office scheme which the Scottish Government has been keen to promote as a means of attracting and retaining individuals with valuable skills. As such, she has supported her family and contributed economically.
"As you will also no doubt be aware, Ms Ngazana's daughter, Gamu Nhengu, has been participating in the X Factor television show. Gamu has demonstrated that she is a hugely talented singer, and potentially a great asset to Scotland's cultural community. I would strongly urge you to take a personal interest in the family's circumstances, to ensure that all relevant factors are properly and fully considered, so that any options which would allow them to stay in Scotland are fully explored."
Speaking from a secret location in Scotland, Gamu told the News of the World she will face the firing squad if she is forced to return to Zimbabwe, and said her relatives there had already been approached by men she feared to work for the country's president Robert Mugabe.
Nhengu said: "I've been in the public eye now and people there know I've fled Mugabe's regime. They will punish us if we go back. They're going to know where we are. There's a firing squad waiting for us there and they're putting me in front of it."
The singer added that she had not been contacted by Simon Cowell or Cheryl Cole although she had heard Cowell's lawyers were "trying to help".
A British aid worker died after her kidnappers in Afghanistan detonated the bomb vest she was wearing as American troops attempted to rescue her, it has emerged.
The mission to save Linda Norgrove from her rebel captors was authorised by the Foreign Secretary William Hague while Prime Minister David Cameron was kept informed of the operation, officials said.
The Government defended the decision to launch the military assault, saying it was "right to try" to secure the release of Ms Norgrove, a 36-year-old aid worker from Scotland.
Originally from Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands, Ms Norgrove was seized by militants in Kunar province on September 26. Her father John Norgrove told The Sunday Times his family was "devastated" by the news.
General David Petraeus, the top Nato and US commander in Afghanistan, added that troops did "everything in their power" to save a woman colleagues described as an "inspiration".
Three Afghan nationals also taken by the insurgents were later released, but Ms Norgrove continued to be held amid growing concern.
After a tip off revealed her whereabouts, US troops in the eastern province were sent in. During the fighting seven insurgents were shot dead, it is believed. But Ms Norgrove was killed by her captors before she could be secured and led to safety.
Authorities in the US and the UK stressed that insurgent captors alone were responsible for the death, and a Foreign Office spokesman said: "There is nothing at all to suggest that US fire was the cause."
Mr Hague broke the news of the failed rescue bid on Saturday, and said: "Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the hostage takers. From the moment they took her, her life was under grave threat. Given who held her, and the danger she was in, we judged that Linda's best chance lay in attempting to rescue her."
In a statement, Mr Cameron paid tribute to the "valuable work" that Ms Norgrove carried out and said: "Decisions on operations to free hostages are always difficult. But where a British life is in such danger, and where we and our allies can act, I believe it is right to try."
Officials in Hungary say no new cracks have been detected on the north wall of the red sludge reservoir which was thought to be close to collapse and that the situation is "hopeful".
Disaster agency spokesman Tibor Dobson said that the older cracks are being repaired but that it is too soon to consider lowering the current state of alert. Protective walls also are being built around the reservoir's damaged area to hold back any further spills.
At least seven people have died and one is missing in the wake of Monday's flood which engulfed several towns in western Hungary after a corner of the gigantic reservoir of a metals plant gave way and released around 184 million gallons of caustic red sludge.
A new brigade of British troops is in charge in Afghanistan's Helmand province, it has been announced.
The 16 Air Assault Brigade will start working towards handing over its duties to Afghan forces during 2011 after taking over from 4th Mechanised Brigade, which has spent the last six months trying to improve governance and security in the region.
Following a handover meal, the governor of Helmand province Gulab Mangal paid tribute to the British soldiers who had been killed in recent operations.
He said: "I am deeply saddened when I hear of the loss of soldiers and I share the pain of families who have lost their beloved ones."
Soul singer Solomon Burke has died at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. He was 70.
Airport police spokesman Robert van Kapel confirmed the death of the singer, and referred further questions to the performer's management.
Burke, who wrote the hit Everybody Needs Somebody to Love among many others, was both a Grammy winner and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He had been due to perform at a well-known club in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
Police are combing through evidence of any crimes committed at protests held by two rival campaign groups in a city.
Violence was largely kept at bay as around 1,000 protesters from the English Defence League (EDL) and 700 from Unite Against Fascism (UAF) gathered in Leicester city centre on Saturday.
More than 2,000 officers and staff took part in Leicester's largest policing operation for 25 years, with help drafted in from 12 other forces.
Thirteen men were arrested, with only three from Leicester, and the rest from across the country. They are being questioned by police on suspicion of various offences, including assaulting a police officer, criminal damage and public order offences.
The groups were allowed to hold static protests in Leicester's Humberstone Gate East after Home Secretary Theresa May authorised a blanket ban on marches in the city.
Police managed to keep control, with small pockets of violence dispersed by officers. One police officer was injured but later treated and discharged, the force said.
Investigations are continuing into any crimes committed during the protests and Leicestershire Police said officers had been collecting CCTV evidence and work would continue to try to identify any offenders.
Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Gordon Fraser thanked the public and said: "The work isn't over though, we now continue to work on evidence gathering for the investigations into the crimes committed today in order to take action against those responsible."
Sheila Lock, chief executive of Leicester City Council, said Leicester was "stronger" as a result of the demonstrations.
After a clean-up operation, the city was getting ready for a "We are One Leicester" event to mark community cohesion, also due to be held in Humberstone Gate, and the Leicester marathon, both due to take place today.
Two Iraqis are to go on trial for the murders of six British military policemen more than seven years ago.
The Red Caps were killed when a mob of about 400 people attacked a police station in Majar al-Kabir, southern Iraq, in June 2003.
Hamza Hateer and Mussa Ismael al Fartusi will stand trial for their murder at the central criminal court in Baghdad.
The judge adjourned a hearing last month to give more witnesses time to travel, and it is uncertain whether the case will go ahead.
Relatives of those killed have fought a long campaign for those responsible to be brought to justice, and there was little progress in the case until the Iraqi authorities took eight people into custody in February this year.
Six of the suspects later walked free and there are a number of outstanding arrest warrants, but the families of the six Red Caps have cautiously welcomed the start of the trial.
John Hyde, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, whose son Lance Corporal Benjamin Hyde, 23, was one of the victims, said: "It's progress but it's slow progress."
The Red Caps had been training local Iraqi officers when the police station came under attack on June 24 2003. An inquest in March 2006 heard that some of their bodies were found riddled with bullets, while others had marks that suggested they had been dragged, tied up or beaten with rifles.
Coroner Nicholas Gardiner recorded a narrative verdict of unlawful killing, saying the six soldiers should have been better equipped but their deaths could not have been avoided.
The other victims were Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, from Chessington, Surrey; Corporal Russell Aston, 30, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire; Corporal Paul Long, 24, of South Shields, Tyne and Wear; Lance Corporal Tom Keys, 20, from Bala, North Wales; and Corporal Simon Miller, 21, from Washington, Tyne and Wear.
Shadow chancellor Alan Johnson has warned that the Government's spending cuts would cause more damage than that inflicted by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.
In his strongest attack so far on the coalition's deficit-reduction plans, Mr Johnson said they would "fundamentally alter our community" and require years of repair.
He also raised the spectre of a double-dip recession, claiming that the Conservative-Liberal Democrat administration was putting economic growth at risk with cuts of 25% over four years.
Pointing to the continued economic turmoil in Ireland, he told The Observer: "We don't have to look far to see what the effect can be of cutting too deep too soon.
"Even if double dip doesn't happen, the way this coalition is implementing these changes will fundamentally alter our community and lead to a situation where we spend years trying to repair the damage. If you think of Thatcher in the Eighties, the most she cut was 10%, and we are still feeling the effect of that in Hull, the city I represent."
Mr Johnson is still fleshing out his approach to the economy after emerging as Labour leader Ed Miliband's surprise choice for shadow chancellor.
He has endorsed former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling's plan to halve the deficit over four years, saying that is his starting point, and has also indicated he would not oppose every cut proposed by the coalition, whose comprehensive spending review on October 20 presents Mr Johnson with his first major test.
And in an article for the News of the World, Mr Johnson indicated that he may propose a less severe cuts programme than even Mr Darling's if economic conditions worsen.
"Of course we must tackle the deficit, that's why Alistair Darling set out a clear plan to halve it over four years, a path I want to keep if economic conditions allow," he wrote.
"But Britain needs more than just a plan to cut the deficit, this country also needs a plan for growth."
Chile's trapped miners cheered and embraced when a drill punched an escape shaft into an underground chamber in a spray of rock and dust on the 66th day of their agonising entombment, opening the way for rescuers to set plans to begin lifting the men out by midweek.
The government's mining minister said that the extraction of the 33 men will probably begin on Wednesday, after an inspection revealed that the new hole is mostly strong enough to enable them to escape safely.
He said only a stretch at the top will be reinforced with steel pipe.
The completion of the rescue shaft caused bedlam in the tent city known as Camp Hope, where the miners' relatives have held vigil since a cave-in sealed off the gold and copper mine August 5.
Miners videotaping the drill breaking through a chamber's ceiling 2,041 feet underground could be seen cheering joyfully and hugging each other, the drillers said.
At the surface, the rescuers chanted, danced and sprayed champagne so excitedly that some of their hard hats tumbled off.
"On the video, they all started shouting and hugging and celebrating," said James Stefanic, operations manager for the US-Chilean drilling company Geotec.
The success of the escape shaft was a tremendous relief for families of the miners.
"We feel an enormous happiness," said Darwin Contreras, whose brother Pedro, a 26-year-old heavy machine operator, is stuck down below. "Now we just have to wait for them to get out, just a little bit longer now."
The Government's massive cuts programme will "stay on track" for the next four years irrespective of short-term shocks to the economy, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has indicated.
Departments will be given "clear and firm" budgets in order to eliminate the structural deficit by 2015, Mr Hammond said, with Bank of England measures such as quantitative easing used if economic conditions worsen unexpectedly.
The comments contrast with those of Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, who said the planned £83 billion cuts programme could be reined in if circumstances altered - amid fears that Britain is still susceptible to a double-dip recession.
Mr Hammond played down the fears, saying "all the indicators" suggested the UK economy would continue to grow over the course of the parliament and that unemployment would fall year-on-year.
Asked on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show about the ability to "finesse" cuts to avoid a double-dip recession, the former shadow Treasury chief secretary said: "The plans that the Chancellor will set out in his spending review statement on October 20 will set out a pattern of reduction for departments over the four years of the spending review, so departments will have clear and firm budgets.
"And our view has always been that fiscal policy should be set for the medium term, and monetary policy should be used to deal with any short-term shocks."
He went on: "The Bank of England has got monetary policy to deal with any short-term shocks to the economy, while our fiscal policy - which is about getting the structural deficit eliminated by the end of this parliament - should stay on track, because that's the key message that markets have received that's restored confidence, that's got British interest rates down, that's got the IMF giving us a clean bill of health and frankly that's got our economy starting to get back on track for future sustainable growth."
Mr Hammond hit back at claims from new shadow chancellor Alan Johnson that the Coalition's planned cuts would cause more damage than that inflicted by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, insisting they would be "manageable".
"We have always said that the reductions in public spending will be over a four-year period - this isn't going to be a cliff edge next year," he said.
"Departments will reduce their spending in line with the plans agreed by the Chancellor over a period of four years. So if a department is reducing its spending by 25% overall, it won't be 25% in year one. It will be maybe 6% in year one, and 6% in year two."
Two people are recovering after they were shot in an alley in County Durham, police said.
Police arrested two people following the shootings in Spennymoor, County Durham, which happened just after 5pm on Satuday.
One man aged 40 suffered a minor injury and was released after treatment while a 59-year-old remained in hospital where his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening. Both men were local.
A Durham Police spokeswoman said: "It is believed both males were shot during the same incident at the rear of Clyde Terrace, Spennymoor, shortly before the police were called."
Acting Chief Inspector Tony Avery believed the men were not shot at random and said the wider community was not at risk.
"Incidents of this nature are very unusual and there is nothing to suggest people in the wider community are in danger," he said.
"Our inquiries are continuing."
The spokeswoman said two people were being held in connection with the incident.
