![Image]( "MI6 'nothing to do with torture'")
MI6 does not pass on intelligence to foreign agencies if it believes that it could result in torture, even if it could prevent terrorist activity taking place, the head of the service has said.
In the first public speech by a serving Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), Known officially as MI6, Sir John Sawers strongly defended its methods while appealing for understanding for the "real, constant, operational dilemmas" it faced.
Speaking to the Society of Editors in London in a live television address, he said it is essential that agents and overseas intelligence services could be confident that their secrets would not be compromised through working with MI6.
He expressed concern that the possible release of intelligence material received from foreign agencies in recent court cases could lead to intelligence-sharing with key allies drying up.
Sir John stressed that SIS had "nothing whatsoever" to do with torture, which was both "illegal and abhorrent", and that he was confident that its officers acted with the "utmost integrity". At the same, he said that they had to operate in the "world as it is", which, on occasion, meant working with agencies from countries which were not "friendly democracies", which could throw up difficult issues.
"Suppose we receive credible intelligence that might save lives, here or abroad. We have a professional and moral duty to act on it. We will normally want to share it with those who can save those lives," Sir John said.
"We also have a duty do what we can to ensure that a partner service will respect human rights. That is not always straightforward. Yet if we hold back, and don't pass that intelligence, out of concern that a suspect terrorist may be badly treated, innocent lives may be lost that we could have saved."
Sometimes, he said, there was no clear way forward and the most "finely-balanced" cases had to be decided by ministers. However SIS would always strive to prevent terrorist attacks in a way that was consistent with human rights.
"If we know or believe action by us will lead to torture taking place, we're required by UK and international law to avoid that action. And we do, even though that allows the terrorist activity to go ahead," he said.
Sir John said that he welcomed the announcement of the Gibson Inquiry into alleged complicity by officers from SIS and the Security Service, MI5, in the torture or abuse of detainees held abroad.
A mother repeatedly stabbed her three-year-old daughter before dousing her body in acid in a bid to "dissolve her away", a court has heard.
The body of Alia Ahmed Jama was found by police at the home she shared with her mother Iman Omar Yousef, 25, in Erdington, Birmingham, in February.
Yousef, a paranoid schizophrenic, was initially charged with her murder but at Birmingham Crown Court, judge Mr Justice Flaux ruled that she was unfit to plead to the charge and jurors were instructed to consider whether she was guilty of unlawfully killing her daughter.
James Burbidge QC, prosecuting, told the court: "You are going to hear about a sad and tragic case because it concerns the death of a three-year-old girl.
"In this unusual set of circumstances all you have to determine is whether the prosecution has made you sure that Iman Omar Yousef unlawfully killed her three-year-old daughter."
The prosecutor told the jury that two officers from West Midlands Police attended the address in Milverton Road on February 13 after concerns for Alia's wellbeing were raised by Yousef's mother.
He said: "She was on the floor and not on the bed, however her body was in a state of decomposition in that the skin had melted away exposing bone, due to some form of corrosive substance having been applied to her torso."
The prosecutor told the court that a number of stab wounds had been inflicted, most likely with a large kitchen knife, though no weapon was recovered from the scene.
Dr James Lucas, a pathologist who carried out a post-mortem examination on Alia's body, told the court "very extensive corrosive damage" had hampered interpretation of her injuries, making it impossible for him to ascertain a cause of death.
He told the jury that the front of the child's body, specifically her shoulders, chest and upper abdomen, displayed evidence of "dozens of penetrating injuries of varying shapes and sizes".
A 16-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with the murder of schoolgirl Rebecca Aylward.
Rebecca, 15, was found dead from head injuries in woodland at Aberkenfig, Bridgend, on Sunday.
The teenage suspect was remanded to secure accommodation during a brief youth court hearing in Bridgend.
Flanked by two security guards, the boy sat in the dock behind a transparent screen during the hearing. Wearing a red T-shirt under an open black top, he spoke only to confirm his name and to state his age.
The charge of murdering Rebecca on October 23 at Aberkenfig was read to him.
Sitting with two other magistrates, Chairwoman Ruth Brookes said the boy would be back in court on November 3.
Speaking to the defendant, she said: "What's going to happen now is that you're going to be brought back to this court in seven days' time. In the meantime you're remanded to local authority accommodation with a secure requirement."
The boy's parents, brother, aunt and uncle were present for the hearing. As he was led from the dock, he looked at his family at the back of the court.
Rebecca was reported missing by her mother, Sonia Oatley, when she failed to return home to Maesteg on Saturday evening.
She was dropped off to visit a friend at about 12.30pm earlier that day in Sarn Hill, Sarn. Her body was found in woods on the outskirts of the village of Aberkenfig about 9am on Sunday.
The Government's decision to axe the UK's fleet of Harrier jump jets is "bonkers", a former head of the Royal Navy has said.
Labour's Lord West of Spithead, security minister in the previous government, was supported by the Liberal Democrats' former defence spokesman Lord Lee of Trafford, who described the proposals as "madness".
But the Government's position, unveiled last week in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), was supported by former chief of the defence staff and head of the RAF Lord Craig of Radley.
Lord West, first sea lord from 2002 to 2006, said at question time in the House of Lords: "The decision to get rid of the Harriers and not the Tornados is, I have to say, bizarre and wrong. It is the most bonkers decision that I have come across in my 45 years in the military and I assure you I have been privy to some pretty bonkers decisions in that time.
"In terms of cost if we remove the Tornado force we are looking at £7.5 billion by 2018. With the Harriers we are looking at less than £1 billion. So in cost terms that does not make sense. We are told that the Harriers cannot do the job in Afghanistan. That is just not true."
He said that he had spoken to a "lot of army officers" over the weekend who said they "much value" the "particular capabilities" of the Harriers.
Defence minister Lord Astor of Hever had told peers that scrapping the Harrier fleet would save £900 million by 2018.
But Lord Lee said: "To ditch the Harrier fleet and all the expertise that has been built up over the years for a saving of a mere £100 million a year and denude aircraft carriers of their aircraft is surely madness and makes us look absurd in the eyes of the rest of the world. Maybe we should consider getting rid of our flight decks and replacing them with sun decks."
Lord Craig of Radley, head of the armed forces from 1988 to 1991, said: "No one would wish to see them go, but under the circumstances where a decision has to be made between Tornado and Harrier and more Tornado, Tornado surely produces the better result particularly bearing in mind how many aircraft are needed to be supportive in Afghanistan."
Lord Astor told peers: "We have had to make some very difficult decisions because of the legacy we inherited - a black hole in the defence budget of £28 billion. The last year of the Labour government saw an overspend in defence increase by £3.3 billion. This is the largest ever recorded increase."
Helicopters with emergency supplies have finally landed on remote Indonesian islands struck by a tsunami that killed more than 300 people.
Elsewhere in Indonesia, the toll from a volcanic eruption rose to 30, including the mountain's spiritual caretaker.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono cut short a state visit to Vietnam to deal with the dual disasters that struck Indonesia in one 24-hour period, straining the country's ability to respond.
The first aerial surveys of the region hit by the 10-foot tsunami revealed huge swathes of land underwater and the crumbled rubble of homes torn apart by the wave.
One house lay tilted, resting on the edge of its red roof, with tyres and slabs of concrete piled up on the surrounding sand.
Two days after an undersea earthquake spawned the killer wave, the casualty count was still rising as rescuers landed for the first time on the Mentawai island chain, which was closest to the epicentre and the worst hit. Bad weather had kept them away previously.
The first cargo plane loaded with 16 tons of tents, medicine, food and clothes had arrived, disaster official Ade Edward said. Four helicopters also landed in Sikakap, a town on North Pagai island, which will be the centre of relief operations.
"Finally we have a break in the weather," said Edwards, putting the number of people killed by the wave so far at 311. "We have a chance now to look for more than 400 still missing." He said the searches would take place by helicopter.
Meanwhile, about 800 miles to the east in central Java, disaster officials were scouring the slopes of Indonesia's most volatile volcano for survivors after it was rocked by an eruption yesterday that killed at least 30 people, including an 83-year-old man who had refused to abandon his ceremonial post as caretaker of the mountain's spirits.
Maridjan - entrusted by a highly respected late king to watch over the volcano - has for years led ceremonies in which rice and flowers were thrown into the crater to appease the mountain. His body was found by rescue workers, amid reports that he was kneeling face-down on the floor, a typical Islamic prayer position, when he died.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said "steady progress" was being made in improving security in Afghanistan, but warned levels of violence may increase.
He told the Commons one of the effects of increased military activity was that the number of incidents involving Afghan and international Isaf forces, particularly where shots had been fired at them, had "increased sharply".
Updating MPs on the situation in the country he said: "The Government is confident that we have the right military strategy in place and the right number of troops in Afghanistan.
"However we must expect levels of violence to remain high, and even increase, as Afghan and Isaf forces tackle the insurgency."
After making a statement on Afghanistan, Mr Hague was asked by Tory Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) for his assessment of the leaked US military files published last week, which Mr Mosley said included 21 incidents in Afghanistan involving British troops.
Whistleblowing website Wikileaks released 400,000 classified logs about the Iraq war that detailed the deaths of thousands of civilians and suggested evidence of torture was ignored by US troops.
Mr Hague said: "There is no place in our policies for the mistreatment of detainees, we've been very clear about that as a Government, and we have of course published the guidance we give to our intelligence officers and announced an inquiry into previous allegations.
"But I do condemn the unauthorised release of information which can endanger our forces, which can endanger people who have worked with our forces, and which gives one-sided propaganda, a propaganda gift, for insurgents.
"So I do condemn those leaks. It is our forces who are engaged above all in protecting the civilian population in Afghanistan, often having to accept casualties because of the work they do to protect the civilian population.
"The people who indiscriminately attack the civilian population and do not care whether women, children and other people are blown up by their IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) are the insurgents and the terrorists."
Hundreds of pensioners have rallied outside the Houses of Parliament to protest at cuts to local services and changes to their pensions.
Some wore masks of Nick Clegg and David Cameron at the rally organised by the National Pensioners Convention (NPC).
Many carried walking sticks or sat in wheelchairs as they waved placards and chanted: "They say cut back, we say fight back."
Among their concerns was the 27% cut in grants to local authorities announced in last week's spending review, as councils provide much of the social care on which some pensioners depend.
The NPC also said the linking of state pensions to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rather than the Retail Price Index (RPIX), would lead to below-inflation rises in the value of pensions.
Dot Gibson, general secretary of the NPC, said: "We know that when local councils are deprived of 27% they are going to cut services that our people depend on and that's going to have an enormous impact on frail, elderly and disabled people. They will be left isolated and at risk."
Ms Gibson, 76, said pensioners had a responsibility to stand up for the future of the welfare state: "There were many of us who were there in 1945 and it had a huge effect on. People said we're not going back to the 1930s and 1920s, we want a better society," she said.
Addressing the protesters, Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, called for a minimum pension of at least £170 a week, £30 higher than the £140 proposed by the coalition government.
Speaking on the same platform, Kelvin Hopkins, Labour MP for Luton North, called for the state pension to rise to £200 by 2015. Mr Hopkins said: "We have a fight on our hands, not just for pensioners but for all working people. This Government has started a right-wing revolution which has to be reversed. I think we perhaps need to take a leaf out of the book of the French."
Rosemary Smith, 68, came to the rally wearing a mask of the Prime Minister. She said: "Every time I look at his face I think: 'How can someone like you possibly understand what life is like for many of us?'" Mrs Smith, of East Kilbride, Scotland, said: "Pensioners don't want hand outs we want a decent pension and we want our dignity."
Dangerous offenders were charged with almost 200 murders, rapes and other serious offences while being monitored by the authorities last year, figures have showed.
More than 1,200 violent criminals and sex offenders deemed a risk to the public were jailed after they either committed new offences or breached their licence conditions or sexual offences prevention order in 2009/10, a rate of more than 20 every week, the Ministry of Justice figures showed.
Of the 196 dangerous offenders charged with a serious further offence, 34 were managed with regular multi-agency public protection (Mapp) meetings.
In 2008/9, 48 dangerous offenders managed with regular Mapp meetings were charged with a serious further offence but, due to a change in the way the statistics were collected, officials said the figures were "not directly comparable".
Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (Mappa) panels, which include police, councils and other Government agencies, were set up to manage the risks to the public from dangerous criminals after they leave prison.
Prisons and Probation Minister Crispin Blunt said: "The agencies who implement Mappa deliver a robust system that effectively monitors potentially unpredictable and dangerous behaviour by Mappa offenders.
"The risk of further offences can never be eliminated entirely which is why Mappa is a critical tool in protecting the public and reducing serious re-offending."
In all, 48,388 offenders were being watched by the authorities on March 31 2010, up 8% from the previous year, the figures showed.
In 2009/10, 9,636 offenders were under "active multi-agency management", a 12% drop from the 10,923 being monitored that way in 2008/9. Of the 196 of these offenders charged with murder or another serious further offence in 2009/10, 105 were convicted and 62 were still charged as of March 31.
The figures showed that most of the 196 dangerous offenders charged were in London (24), followed by West Yorkshire (16) and Greater Manchester (11), and a Mappa serious case review was ordered in 14 of these cases.
A £1.3 billion boost to protect the Post Office network has been unveiled by ministers as plans to sell off the Royal Mail cleared their first Commons hurdle.
The money, which will be made available over the next four years, would be used to reverse years of decline in the network, Business Secretary Vince Cable said.
But unions warned the extra funding could be wasted if the Royal Mail was separated from the Post Office under the coalition's plan and Labour said privatisation was not in the "national interest".
The Postal Services Bill was given a second reading by 321 votes to 238, Government majority 83.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said the £1.34 billion over the course of the spending review period "will be used to reform the current network, to change the underlying economics and so reverse the years of decline and secure its long-term future."
He added: "There will be no programme of closures under this Government and the Post Office will be able to invest, improve its offer and win new revenue streams."
The Government was looking at options for a cooperative structure for the Post Office network, which had around 11,500 branches across the UK. However, "no firm decision" had been taken on possible mutualisation but the Government had asked Co-operative UK to look at the options.
Mr Cable said the Royal Mail was facing "structural decline" with a huge fall in letter volumes and stiff commercial pressures, adding: "The Government is the wrong shareholder for this company.
"Given the Government's financial constraints we cannot invest enough, quickly enough, we can't invest flexibly enough and every investment we now make has to be cleared by the European Commission under state aid rules."
Mike O'Connor, chief executive of Consumer Focus, said: "Government support for our Post Office network is very welcome but its long term future can only be secured if Post Offices provide the services consumers need at a high standard in places people can access. At the moment, we love our Post Offices more than we use them."
The UK aviation industry has backed the views of British Airways chairman Martin Broughton that airport security checks need overhauling.
Mr Broughton said some parts of the security programme were "completely redundant" and that the UK should not "kowtow" to the Americans every time the US wanted something done.
Mike Carrivick, chief executive of BAR UK, which represents more than 80 scheduled airlines in the UK, said the whole question of airport security needs to be looked at.
Speaking at the annual conference of the UK Airport Operators Association in London, Mr Broughton said that people should not be forced to take off their shoes and have their laptops checked separately in security lines.
He added that there was no need to "kowtow to the Americans every time they wanted something done", especially when this involved checks the US did not impose on its own domestic routes.
The US stepped up security in January in the wake of an alleged bomb plot.
It introduced tougher screening rules, including body pat-down searches and carry-on baggage checks, for passengers arriving from 14 nations which the authorities consider a security risk. Passengers from any foreign country also face random checks.
Mr Carrivick said: "There seems to be a layered approach to security at airports. Every time there is a new security scare, an extra layer is added on to procedures.
"We need to step back and have a look at the whole situation. Standards change fairly regularly and this puts pressure on airports and airlines. We need to decide what we are trying to do and how best to do it."
Colin Matthews, chief executive of airport operator BAA, spoke of "rationalising" security procedures, while former security minister Lord West said airport checks were "onerous" and had gone too far.
Nearly 100 people have been saved from a blazing ship off the Isles of Scilly in a dramatic rescue operation.
All but 13 of the crew on board the factory fishing vessel escaped on life rafts and were picked up by a passing ship.
The remainder - firefighting crew - have brought the blaze under control, the ship's owners said.
The fire broke out at around 6am on Wednesday as the Athena sailed to its next fishing area and was about 230 miles south-west of the Isles of Scilly.
The coastguard was alerted and nearby ships asked to come to the Athena's aid, with one vessel, the Vega, taking 98 crew members on board after they successfully disembarked using the life rafts. There were no reports of any injuries.
The ship's owners, Faroe Islands-based shipping company Thor, said in a statement: "Around 6am this morning a fire broke out on board Athena while she was sailing to her next fishing area. The fire appears to have started in packing material stored on the port side of the ship. The fire safety crew on board have remained on board to try to contain the situation. All but the 13 firefighting crew have abandoned the ship, and all are safe. The firefighting crew are safe and are in no immediate danger."
Thor chief executive officer, Hans Andrias Joensen, immediately contacted the ship after being made aware of the incident by the Falmouth coastguard at 6.22am.
A spokesman for Falmouth Coastguard, which co-ordinated the rescue, said: "At the moment 13 crew members remain on board the Athena, with 98 on the Vega.
"We've been very fortunate in this case that no-one was injured in the initial fire, or moving the crew to and from the life rafts. The 13 members on board continue to fight the fire as it is still ongoing, but they have it contained in a compartment and are able to operate the rest of the ship. The Athena is sailing under its own power towards the UK, travelling at a speed of about eight knots and is expected to arrive tomorrow. We currently believe it will come into Falmouth."
The coastguard said Chinese, Russian, Peruvian and Scandinavian personnel were among those on board.
David Cameron has dismissed talk of a climbdown over capping housing benefit, despite claims that the policy could drive 200,000 poor people out of major cities.
The Prime Minister said the Government was "sticking by" its proposals, insisting it was not "fair" that claimants lived in properties many workers could only "dream of".
The staunch defence came during clashes in the Commons during which Labour leader Ed Miliband repeatedly challenged Mr Cameron on the issue.
The coalition has announced plans including limiting housing benefit to around £400 a week for a four-bedroom home and cutting payouts by 10% when people have been on Jobseeker's Allowance for more than a year.
But Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes is among those who have criticised the "draconian" proposals, saying ministers will have to "negotiate" to get parliamentary approval.
Labour has suggested the policy will lead to "cleansing" of the poor from areas with high rents, while some Conservative backbenchers with urban constituencies have also voiced concerns.
The Prime Minister admitted that the welfare reforms were "difficult", but said they were necessary to protect other areas of spending such as the schools and NHS from austerity cuts. He stressed that the cap would still leave claimants able to receive around £20,000 a year for housing.
"We are going forward with all the proposals we put in the Spending Review and the Budget," he told MPs.
"I know you don't like the answer that we are sticking to our policies, but we are sticking to our policies. The point everyone in this house has got to consider, are we happy to go on paying £30,000, £40,000, £50,000?
"Are constituents working hard to give benefits so people can live in homes that they can only dream of? I don't think that is fair."
Tests on the body of MI6 spy Gareth Williams have revealed no traces of any foreign substances that may have led to his death.
No evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons were found during a battery of tests conducted by toxicologists, sources close to the inquiry said.
The 30-year-old GCHQ code-breaker's naked and decomposing body was found in a padlocked holdall in the bath of his Pimlico flat on August 23.
The mysterious circumstances of Mr Williams's death sparked an international frenzy of speculation earlier this year.
Coroner Dr Paul Knapman is due to review the case in private next Wednesday, after opening an inquest on September 1.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Results from comprehensive further toxicology tests carried out in relation to the death of Gareth Williams have come back negative, showing no trace of any drugs, alcohol, poisons or any other substances that would indicate cause of death.
"There are no plans to carry out any further tests of this type, but inquiries continue to try and establish a formal cause of death."
Scotland Yard detectives, led by Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, continue to try and identify what led to Mr Williams's death. They have been hunting for a man and a woman seen calling at the communal door of his Alderney Street home.
Witnesses said the Mediterranean couple, aged in their 20s, were let into the property late on an evening in June or July.
There was no sign of any forced entry to the property or a disturbance inside and nothing is believed to be missing. Mr Williams, of Anglesey, north Wales, was last seen alive on August 15, eight days before he was found dead in the £400,000 property.
The row over the Government's housing benefit cuts has escalated after Mayor of London Boris Johnson said he would not accept "Kosovo-style social cleansing" in the capital.
In remarks criticised by ministers including David Cameron, Mr Johnson insisted he would not allow thousands of poorer families to be forced out of London by benefit reforms.
His intervention increased pressure on the Prime Minister, who is already facing opposition from Tory and Liberal Democrat backbenchers over the housing benefit shake-up. There are claims that around 200,000 people could be driven out of areas with high rents as a result of the drive to reduce the cost of housing subsidies.
Mr Johnson said he was in "detailed negotiations" with Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith about the proposals.
"The last thing we want to have in our city is a situation such as Paris where the less well-off are pushed out to the suburbs," he told BBC London. "I'll emphatically resist any attempt to recreate a London where the rich and poor cannot live together."
The mayor added: "What we will not see and we will not accept is any kind of Kosovo-style social cleansing of London. On my watch, you are not going to see thousands of families evicted from the place where they have been living and have put down roots. That is not what Londoners want to see, it's not what we are going to accept."
His comments drew criticism from ministers and Downing Street. "The Prime Minister doesn't agree with what Boris Johnson has said or indeed the way he said it," Mr Cameron's spokesman said. "He thinks the policy is the right one and he doesn't agree with the way (Mr Johnson) chose his words."
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he too "very strongly" disagreed with Mr Johnson's comments. Business Secretary Vince Cable accused the mayor of using "inflammatory" language. "Simply using this dangerous language is seriously unhelpful, it's distracting from the underlying problems and the fact is the Government has got to reform this," he said. "As part of dealing with the public finances, we have got to get housing benefit under control because the budget was just escalating."
Mr Johnson later issued a statement saying he had been quoted "out of context" and that reform of the housing benefit system was "absolutely right". He stressed that his point was that London had "specific needs" and that he and ministers were "continuing to negotiate a package of measures to ensure the changes were introduced in London with minimal problems".
The planned moves include a £400-a-week housing benefit cap for four-bedroom homes and a 10% reduction for the long-term unemployed. The Government estimates that 21,000 households will be affected by the cap on different size homes - 17,000 of them in London. But more than 750,000 claimants could be affected by changes to the way Local Housing Allowance levels are calculated. The housing benefit cap will come into force next April, tougher limits on Local Housing Allowance next October, and the 10% cut for long-term unemployed in 2013.
David Cameron has arrived at the EU summit vowing to "build alliances" to block a massive rise in EU spending next year.
"In some ways I think it might be quite a difficult meeting," he said. "The European Parliament wants to see a 6% increase in next year's budget.
"It's unacceptable at a time when European countries are taking tough decisions on their budgets and having to cut departments.
"It's completely wrong European institutions should be spending more money on themselves in the way they propose. Six per cent is not acceptable, I want to build alliances with colleagues, put a stop to that and see if we can do something better."
The plans for increased EU spending next year are not on the summit agenda, but Mr Cameron paved the way for a confrontation by telling the Commons on Wednesday that the 5.9% rise sought by Euro-MPs and the European Commission was "completely unacceptable".
Chancellor George Osborne wanted a spending freeze, but was outvoted by other EU finance minister recently, when they pegged back the proposed 5.9% rise to just 2.9%.
Downing Street accepts that there is now no prospect of getting next year's increase to zero, or even below 2.9%. Even keeping it down to 2.9% will involve tough negotiations, not least because many countries are net recipients from the budget.
Mr Cameron circulated a letter for signature amongst his fellow leaders at the summit in a bid to ensure solidarity in standing against any rise above the 2.9% compromise figure already agreed by EU finance ministers. The letter condemned the attempt to increase the budget by 5.9%, saying:
"These proposals are especially unacceptable at a time when we are having to take difficult decisions at national level to control public expenditure."
The letter was signed by 10 other leaders - enough to form a "blocking minority if the rest of the member states seek to try to settle on a higher figure in the compromise talks with the European Parliament and the Commission in the coming weeks. The Prime Minister won the support of Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Austria, Finland, Slovenia and Estonia.
A British soldier escaped death when he was hit by a Taliban bullet in Afghanistan because he was wearing the British forces' latest Osprey body armour, the Ministry of Defence has said.
Ranger Ryan Boyd, of 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, was knocked off his feet but not seriously injured when his unit came under attack while patrolling the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province earlier this month.
The 26-year-old, from Bangor in Northern Ireland, survived being hit by a bullet because a side plate fitted to his armour, known as Osprey body armour, absorbed the force of the shot, the MoD said.
"Troops' equipment is improving all the time and will continue to improve as new technology becomes available," Lieutenant Colonel David Eastman, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said.
"The latest improvements to Osprey body armour make a real difference to soldiers' personal protection and this incident demonstrates what a lifesaver it can be."
Families and friends of British armed forces in Afghanistan have been treated to a private concert by pop group The Saturdays at this year's launch of the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal.
The armed forces charity invited wives, children, and girlfriends of the 16 Air Assault Brigade to Colchester Garrison, Essex, for its 90th Poppy Appeal.
They demonstrated the Legion's commitment not only to servicemen and women, but also to their families and friends, a spokeswoman said.
The ceremony included a spectacular parachute display by the Legion's extreme flight team, Jump4Heroes, and an hour-long performance by The Saturdays.
Singer Mollie King said the group jumped at the chance to perform. "It's a complete honour to be asked," she said. "We always like to support the armed forces. They are doing such a good job, so for us to be able to help raise awareness, of course we were going to do it."
Emma-Jayne Webster, 28, from Worcs, and daughter Kaitlin, four, were among those who attended.
Ms Webster's fiance, L/Cpl Richard Brandon, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical engineers, became the 212th British serviceman to be killed in Afghanistan since it was invaded in 2001, when the vehicle he was travelling in hit a bomb planted in the road in the south of Gereshk, Helmand province, in September last year.
Ms Webster and Kaitlin are featured on one of the Legion's posters calling for people to donate to this year's Appeal.
Video messages posted by a number of personnel stationed in Afghanistan were shown to guests during the ceremony.
The Legion's 2010 Appeal has a fundraising target of £36 million, up from the record £35 million raised in 2009. People wishing to donate can buy a poppy from now until November 11 at locations including train and Tube stations across the country and shopping centres.
Compulsory redundancies will be imposed in the civil service as the coalition slashes budgets, the UK's top mandarin has admitted.
Sir Gus O'Donnell said forcing staff to leave would be "part of the answer in some departments" with tens of thousands of jobs due to be scrapped.
Whitehall is estimated to be facing the loss of 80,000 posts over the next two years as a result of last week's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), with the Ministry of Defence and HM Revenue & Customs among the hardest hit.
But giving evidence to the Commons Public Administration Committee, the Cabinet Secretary indicated he wanted to remove even more employees than was strictly necessary.
Asked if he was worried the civil service may lose the "wrong people", he replied: "Absolutely. We will not do this just through natural wastage.
"We will proactively manage this process so that we use our redundancy schemes. It may be at times we use our redundancy schemes to take out rather more, and then come in with people who have the skills that we need for the future."
Sir Gus stressed that natural wastage, where people leave for other jobs or retire, would play a large part in cutting the headcount.
Different departments would bring forward "concrete" plans for making reductions based on their own circumstances, he said.
But the mandarin went on: "We certainly cannot rule out the fact that we may have to have compulsory redundancies. That will be a part of the answer in some departments. But if you take a small department with a very high (staff) turnover rate, it may be that there are not compulsory redundancies there."
Sir Gus said the overall costs of redundancy packages to the taxpayer would depend on legislative changes, which were currently being negotiated with unions.
MI6 does not pass on intelligence to foreign agencies if it believes that it could result in torture, even if it could prevent terrorist activity taking place, the head of the service has said.
In the first public speech by a serving Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), Known officially as MI6, Sir John Sawers strongly defended its methods while appealing for understanding for the "real, constant, operational dilemmas" it faced.
Speaking to the Society of Editors in London in a live television address, he said it is essential that agents and overseas intelligence services could be confident that their secrets would not be compromised through working with MI6.
He expressed concern that the possible release of intelligence material received from foreign agencies in recent court cases could lead to intelligence-sharing with key allies drying up.
Sir John stressed that SIS had "nothing whatsoever" to do with torture, which was both "illegal and abhorrent", and that he was confident that its officers acted with the "utmost integrity". At the same, he said that they had to operate in the "world as it is", which, on occasion, meant working with agencies from countries which were not "friendly democracies", which could throw up difficult issues.
"Suppose we receive credible intelligence that might save lives, here or abroad. We have a professional and moral duty to act on it. We will normally want to share it with those who can save those lives," Sir John said.
"We also have a duty do what we can to ensure that a partner service will respect human rights. That is not always straightforward. Yet if we hold back, and don't pass that intelligence, out of concern that a suspect terrorist may be badly treated, innocent lives may be lost that we could have saved."
Sometimes, he said, there was no clear way forward and the most "finely-balanced" cases had to be decided by ministers. However SIS would always strive to prevent terrorist attacks in a way that was consistent with human rights.
"If we know or believe action by us will lead to torture taking place, we're required by UK and international law to avoid that action. And we do, even though that allows the terrorist activity to go ahead," he said.
Sir John said that he welcomed the announcement of the Gibson Inquiry into alleged complicity by officers from SIS and the Security Service, MI5, in the torture or abuse of detainees held abroad.
Special advisers to Labour ministers received pay-offs worth £1.8 million after the general election.
The generous severance packages were disclosed as the Government published details of the cost of so-called "Spads" to the taxpayer.
The figures show that David Cameron is employing fewer advisers than Gordon Brown did as Prime Minister.
At the beginning of 2009-10 Mr Brown had 23, while the Tory leader has 19 on his staff.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has five - meaning the total for Downing Street as a whole is slightly higher than previously.
The highest earners are Number 10 director of communications Andy Coulson, on £140,000 a year, and Mr Cameron's chief of staff Ed Llewellyn on £125,000.
Altogether the public is said to be paying £4.9 million for Government Spads this year, some £700,000 below the sum declared under Labour last year.
BBC journalists are to stage two 48-hour strikes in the coming weeks in a long-running row over pensions.
The National Union of Journalists said its members will walk out on November 5 and 6 and again on November 15 and 16, with further strike dates to be announced in the coming days, including the threat of a Christmas stoppage.
The move followed a 70% rejection of the BBC's "final" offer on pensions, which the union described as making journalists "pay more, work longer and receive lower pensions".
NUJ general-secretary Jeremy Dear said: "This massive vote against the BBC's latest proposal comes as no surprise, given the fundamental pay more, work longer, get less nature of the offer.
"NUJ members across the BBC have consistently dubbed the proposals a pensions robbery. That hasn't changed. The BBC have now left members with no choice but to take action to defend their pensions."
The NUJ said its 4,000 members at the BBC will also refuse to take on additional duties or volunteer for acting-up duties as part of an indefinite work to rule.
The dispute flared after the BBC announced plans to cap pensionable pay at 1% from next April and revalue pensions at a lower level, which unions said effectively devalued pensions already earned.
BBC management said the changes were needed to try to tackle a huge pension deficit of more than £1.5 billion. BBC director-general Mark Thompson said in a message to staff that the adjustments to the proposals should be taken as the corporation's "final position".
"They still deliver the overwhelming majority of the financial effect we knew we needed to achieve in dealing with the deficit and containing future pension costs and risks, so that we could continue to offer affordable pensions.
"But I believe that they are also reasonable and equitable from the point of view of staff. They are offered, and should be considered, as a package. We cannot and will not make any adjustments to them which would involve further cost or any loss of future affordability," he said.
