Don Valley: Jessica Ennis' Track To Close

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

The athletics stadium where Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis trains is to close.

Sheffield City Council voted to go ahead with the closure of the Don Valley stadium as part of a package of cuts. The council has to save £50m in the next financial year.

Ennis reacted to news of the closure minutes after it was announced, tweeting: "So sad to lose Don Valley Stadium! Where it all started for me. Great memories."

She had called on councillors to rethink the plans, saying: "It would be a huge shame. I've got some amazing memories, starting my athletic career there and having that iconic stadium in my home city is incredible.

"To lose that would be such a shame for future athletes coming through, so I hope that the right decision's made and we can find a way to keep it."

Thousands cheered Ennis to London 2012 glory on a screen at Don Valley

The stadium will remain open until September 2013 so planned events over the summer, including the British Transplant Games, can still go ahead. Alternative uses for the stadium or site will be considered by the city council until then.

Ennis began her athletics career after attending a summer camp at the stadium in her home city. Thousands gathered at the stadium to watch on a big screen as she won Olympic gold in the heptathlon at London 2012.

Councillors have been accused of failing to build on the Olympic legacy by closing the venue. A smaller, currently mothballed, stadium will be refurbished for athletes in Sheffield.

Jessica's coach Toni Minichiello says he is not convinced sufficient investment will be made in the alternative site and says the loss of the Don Valley stadium is a blow to the sport.

Jessica Ennis did most of her Olympic training at her home town venue

He told Sky News: "It is an iconic stadium and it's a place that has inspired youngsters and none more so than Jessica Ennis.

"It is a fantastic facility and it is an incredible shame to lose something like this from the sporting map.

"Having taken the youngsters all the way through to Olympic gold you see that this actually can be done in Sheffield.

"Why, if you can have one Jessica Ennis, can you not have two or three?

"That opportunity all of a sudden looked to be there and now it's going to be taken away from a whole new generation of youngsters."

Sheffield City Council said in order to keep the Don Valley Stadium open and achieve the same level of saving it would have had to close up to five community sports facilities.

Cllr Isobel Blower says the stadium is too expensive to subsidise

The council says that would have resulted in a loss in sports participation of up to 10 times greater that shutting the athletics stadium.

Councillor Isobel Bowler, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Leisure at Sheffield City Council said "No-one wants to close Don Valley but we can no longer afford to subsidise it by £700,000 a year.

"Over the next 10 years, the council will save over £6m - a huge amount of money."

"We will still provide a home for athletics at Woodbourn, which is less than a mile away and will cost less than £70,000 a year to run.

"This approach has been endorsed by the sport's governing body and the city's two main athletics clubs are already engaged in constructive discussions with the council about the transfer.

"Woodbourn will technically offer the same quality of track and field facilities and in fact will provide uninterrupted access for our local clubs."

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Defence Sec: Cut Welfare Not Troops

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has warned he will resist further cuts to the armed forces in Chancellor George Osborne's forthcoming spending review.

After Downing Street said publicly last month that the military would not be immune from further financial retrenchment, Mr Hammond has vowed to fight against anything more than modest "efficiency savings".

He said other Conservative Cabinet ministers believed that the greatest burden of any cuts should fall on the welfare budget.

A Whitehall source said Mr Hammond's comments were aimed particularly at the Lib Dems following remarks by senior Lib Dem ministers indicating that they believed welfare spending should be protected over defence.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Hammond said there was a "body of opinion within Cabinet who believes that we have to look at the welfare budget again", and that "we should be seeing welfare spending falling" as a result of rising employment levels.

He said the "first priority" for the Government should be "defending the country and maintaining law and order" and that further defence cuts were not possible while meeting stated security objectives.

Mr Hammond says the welfare budget should be curbed instead

"I shall go into the spending review fighting the case for the defence budget on the basis that we have made very large cuts to defence, we've done that with the collaboration and co-operation of the military," he said.

"Any further reduction in the defence budget would fall on the level of activity that we were able to carry out - the idea that expensively bought equipment may not be able to be used, expensively employed troops may not be able to be exercised and trained as regularly as they need to be.

"I am not going into the spending review offering any further reductions in personnel."

Mr Hammond's comments are likely to be welcomed by Tory backbenchers who have been calling for a return to a core Conservative values in the wake of the party's trouncing in the Eastleigh by-election.

However they will also heighten tensions within the coalition, with the Liberal Democrats resisting a further squeeze on welfare spending.

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Middle-Aged Drinking Takes Toll on 'Ladettes'

By James Matthews, Sky Correspondent

The "ladette" culture of the 1980s and 90s is a key factor in the growing number of middle-aged women turning to drink, according to the founder of a support website.

Lucy Rocca says women between 30 and 50 are turning to alcohol as a natural choice, having grown up in an era when drinking to excess was encouraged. 

Ms Rocca set up the Soberistas website after developing - and overcoming - a dependency on alcohol. 

Within two months, more than 1,500 women had joined the forum to discuss problem drinking. The overwhelming majority are middle-aged and many are professional, career women.

Ms Rocca told Sky News: "I think the reason that women of that age are finding themselves in that position where they are drinking too much is that a lot of them grew up in a ladette culture and went on to get married and have children. 

"They had grown up in a culture where it was acceptable and encouraged, really, to drink excessively and, once they found themselves dealing with motherhood and stresses of work, they swapped the pints for the wine and they drank at home to try to deal with that stress."

Former 'ladette' poster girl Zoë Ball recently gave up alcohol

Figures for hospital admissions reflect a recent increase in problem-drinking among women between 30 and 50. 

According to the Department of Health, in England in 2010 there were 110,128 alcohol-related hospital admissions for women in their mid-30s to mid-50s. This was nearly double the number of admissions of women aged 15-34.

In Scotland, the number of alcohol-related deaths among women aged 30-44 has doubled in the past 20 years. 

In January, the Scottish Government launched a new photo app called Drinking Mirror as part of an initiative it dubbed Drop A Glass Size.

Its aim is to encourage women to curb excessive drinking by showing them a photo of how they will look in 10 years' time, depending how much they drink.

Sarah Turner, 57, who runs a centre for women with drink problems, was a millionaire property developer until she developed an addiction to wine and vodka.

Her business collapsed and her home was repossessed. Having now recovered, she helps middle-class, middle-aged women deal with drink problems. 

She believes their needs are too often ignored, while resources are channelled towards areas like teenage binge-drinking.

She told Sky News: "There is enough being done for the disassociated and the disadvantaged.

"The middle-class, middle-aged woman is so shameful, guilty and fearful of coming forward to talk about this problem and they become hidden, secret drinkers.

"This is happening in the home on an epic scale now."

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Breast Cancer: UK Lagging In Survival Rates

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Ageism and poor treatment are reducing women's chances of surviving breast cancer, new research suggests.

The study, funded by The Department of Health, revealed that women in Britain are far less likely to be alive three years after diagnosis than those in other well-developed countries.

Researchers at the Cancer Research UK Cancer Survival Group found that 87-89% of women in the UK and Denmark were alive three years after diagnosis, compared to 91-94% in Australia, Canada, Norway and Sweden.

Figures published in the British Journal of Cancer show the biggest difference was in women aged over 70. In the UK the three-year survival rate is 79%; in Sweden it is 91%.

The scientists say the findings suggest older women and those with more advanced disease are treated less aggressively in the UK.

Dr Sarah Walters, who led the research, said: "In the UK, women are diagnosed at a similar stage as elsewhere, but survival is lower than women with the same stage of disease in other countries.

"We should now investigate whether the treatment of women with later-stage breast cancer meets international standards. There is particular concern that this is not the case, especially for older women."

Sara Hiom, the charity's director of early diagnosis, said the survival gap between the UK and other countries is closing, but the country still fares worse.

"We know that UK women diagnosed with breast cancer are not routinely given CT scans to check if the disease has spread, which could mean we aren't always accurately staging more advanced disease.

"But we also need to investigate the possibility that fewer women with later stage breast cancer in the UK receive the best treatment for their circumstances."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "This study will help us keep improving breast cancer treatment as part of our cancer strategy to save an extra 5,000 lives a year by 2014.

"We have worked with Macmillan Cancer Support to improve access to assessment, treatment and aftercare for cancer patients over 70.

"The NHS is also working to ensure all patients are treated as individuals and receive care that meets their healthcare needs whatever their age or condition."

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Lloyds: Osborne Plans Taxpayer Stake Sale

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The Government will signal today that it will begin the sell-off of its stake in Lloyds Banking Group when the lender's share price hits 61p - a far lower level than previously thought.

I have learnt that UK Financial Investments (UKFI), which manages the taxpayer's 39% stake in Lloyds, and the Treasury will indicate today that the privatisation of the Government's stake can begin within months.

The 61p level is the price at which the stake - bought in 2008 at the height of the banking crisis - is booked at in the national accounts.

The £1.48m bonus awarded to Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio can vest if the Government sells at least one-third of its stake above 61p, Lloyds confirmed today.

"This award is subject to the normal performance adjustment policy and will only vest if a share price of 73.6p has been reached for a given period of time or the Government has sold at least 33% of its shareholding at prices above 61p," Lloyds said, confirming a report on Sky News.

"The board believes that these additional conditions are in the interests of all shareholders and support our common aim of repaying the taxpayer.

"HM Treasury has informed us that 61p is the average price at which the equity support provided to Lloyds Banking Group is recorded in the Public Finances."

The news comes as Lloyds reported a loss for last year of £570m, down from £3.5bn in 2011.

The loss was attributable to a £3.5bn provision during 2012 for mis-selling payment protection insurance, £1.5bn of which was taken during the fourth quarter.

Lloyds paid out £365m in bonuses for the year, with an employee average of £3,900.

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Jessica Ennis Makes Don Valley Stadium Appeal

By Mike McCarthy, North of England Correspondent

Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis has made an eleventh-hour appeal to save the stadium that helped to inspire her.

Councillors are expected to approve closure of the Don Valley Stadium at a budget meeting today.

It is where the sports star perfected her athletic prowess as a youngster and where she still trains.

The heptathlete was discovered on a summer schools training camp at the Sheffield stadium and thousands watched her charge to Olympic glory on a big screen inside the venue.

But despite the heptathlete's objections it looks likely that councillors will approve a plan to bulldoze the building.

Ennis said: "It would be a huge shame.

"I've got some amazing memories, starting my athletic career there and having that iconic stadium in my home city is incredible.

"To lose that would be such a shame for future athletes coming through, so I hope that the right decision's made and we can find a way to keep it."

Councillors in Sheffield have been accused of squandering the Olympic legacy but they say the 22-year-old stadium is often empty and needs major refurbishment that the city cannot afford.

Ennis won one of Team GB's 29 gold medals at the London 2012 Olympic Games

The Labour-controlled council argues that it has to save £50m as a result of Government budget cuts and if the venue remained open local leisure centres would have to close instead.

Councillor Isobel Bowler said: "We have to choose where we put our money. If we kept this stadium open we might have to shut two or three or possibly even four local leisure centres. That's not the way to preserve the Olympic legacy."

Deputy Prime Minister and Sheffield MP Nick Clegg has urged the city council to keep the stadium open.

The sporting community is also strongly opposed to its closure.

Jessica Ennis' coach Toni Minichiello has invested many years of nurturing young talent at Don Valley and accuses the local authority of short-sightedness.

He told Sky News: "It is an iconic stadium and its a place that has inspired youngsters and none more so than Jessica Ennis.

"It is a fantastic facility and it is an incredible shame to lose something like this from the sporting map.

"Having taken the youngsters all the way through to Olympic gold you see that this actually can be done in Sheffield.

"Why, if you can have one Jessica Ennis, can you not have two or three?

"That opportunity all of a sudden looked to be there and now it's going to be taken away from a whole new generation of youngsters."

The local authority says the building costs £700,000 a year to run.

It aims to redevelop the nearby Woodbourn athletics stadium - an older building that has been mothballed for a few years. That would cost approximately £100,000.

The Don Valley stadium was opened in 1991 to host the World Student Games in the hope that it would help revitalise the largely derelict east end of Sheffield.

The full cost of staging the event is not due to be paid off until 2024.

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CPS Taxi Fraud: Charges Over £1m Plot

Two workers at the Crown Prosecution Service are facing charges over a fraud plot involving false taxi claims worth at least £1m.

Finance manager Lisa Burrows, 41, from Birmingham, and an administrative officer who has not been named, work for CPS West Midlands.

The allegations concern false claims for witness care taxi services to the value of at least £1m when no such services had been supplied, the CPS alleged in a statement.

Malcolm McHaffie, deputy head of special crime for the CPS, said the charges followed a complaint by the CPS and a subsequent investigation by West Midlands Police into two members of CPS staff.

"I have now concluded that it is appropriate to charge both Burrows and the other individual with conspiracy to commit fraud," he said.

Mr McHaffie added that while the administrative officer had not yet been charged, Burrows was due appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on Thursday.

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MoD 'Wasting Funds On Unnecessary Equipment'

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is "wasting significant amounts of public money" buying equipment it does not need, according to a group of politicians.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has closely examined the management of the UK defence inventory by totting up what it orders and how much it spends on new kit and then comparing that to how much equipment is actually used.

MP Richard Bacon, who sits on the PAC, criticised the MoD: "While it is perfectly understandable that the department would want to ensure troops on the front line have the equipment they need, it is simply not good enough for the MoD to blame the Treasury for not incentivising it to deal with the issue," he said.

"The MoD should set targets to reduce unnecessary ordering and regularly review its progress to see where else money could be saved.

"With stock returning from Afghanistan and soon from Germany, the problem is likely to get worse unless the MoD acts now to get rid of the £3.4bn stockpile of supplies it has identified as no longer being needed.

"It needs to act fast as some central depots for non-explosive items are already 90% full."

Between April 2009 and March 2011, the MoD purchased 38% more raw material and consumable inventory, such as clothing or ammunition, than it used, costing £1.5bn.

The MoD is also criticised for not getting rid of stock it no longer needs or does not use regularly.

The report reminds the Government that it had been told to sort out its act as long ago as 1991 but has failed to address the "root problems".

It suggests that the MoD should hire professionals who would be better able to identify the problems. 

The MoD has accepted past failings and promised to improve the way it buys new equipment.

"I am determined to reverse decades of lax inventory management to ensure that MoD assets are managed much more efficiently in the future," responded Philip Dunne, the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology.

"Considerable progress has been made since 2010; the size and value of our holdings are now heading in the right direction and we plan to spend almost £2bn less on inventory over the next four years. Introducing comprehensive programmes and modern IT systems to enforce rigorous control are central to this improvement."

The committee does credit the MoD for acknowledging there is still a problem and suggests it is cautiously optimistic that things are getting better, but does warn that past promises of improvement have not materialised.

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RBS Boss: Spring Cleaning Drives £5.16bn Loss

The Royal Bank of Scotland boss has said "spring-cleaning" continues after his firm reported a pre-tax loss in 2012 of £5.16bn.

RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said: "This company is going through a pretty thorough spring-cleaning. It is a pretty dusty job.

"We are spring-cleaning this house and it is looking shinier."

The significant loss was in part due to provisions RBS has made for customer redress for payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling and other so-called bad practices.

It said the annual return was impacted heavily by a £4.64bn "accounting charge for improved own credit".

However, the firm's bankers will still share a bonus pool of £607m - including £215m for investment bankers.

In 2011 the total bonus pot was around 25% higher, at £789m.

Boss Stephen Hester said RBS must be "cleaned up"

When asked to justify the £607m payout, Mr Hester said: "We are a very big company so the numbers end up being substantial, but they are much smaller than other banks.

"We believe that we are doing a responsible job on bonus restraint while acknowledging our staff are badly needed."

The bonus reduction was done to help recoup cash to pay for its recent Libor-rigging settlement with UK and US authorities.

Last month RBS reached an agreement with the Financial Services Authority and US authorities over Libor and other rate fixings to include penalties of £381m.

Mr Hester admitted 2012 had been a "chastening" year to "put right past mistakes", with losses up significantly from £1.2bn in 2011.

The company revealed it took a £450m charge in the last three months of 2012 over PPI mis-selling, taking its cumulative provision to £2.2bn.

By December 31 a total of £1.3bn had been paid out in redress over the scandal.

The disgraced ex-boss Fred Goodwin reigned over the previous RBS regime

The bank said: "Our target is for 2013 to be the last big year of restructuring. There will be important work still to do, but an increasingly sound base from which to work.

"As the spotlight shifts to the 'new RBS' post restructuring, we are determined that it will show a leading UK bank striving to be a really good bank."

RBS saw changed fortunes in its core business, with retail and commercial sector income down 6% but markets up 68%.

The bank added: "RBS is four years into its recovery plan and good progress has been made. We are a much smaller, more focused and stronger bank.

"By serving customers well RBS can become one of the most respected, valued and stable of banks. That is our goal."

In its annual report the bank, which was bailed-out in Britain's biggest ever corporate disaster, said there is an intention to float an estimated 25% of its stake in US banking arm Citizens.

This move was welcomed by Chancellor George Osborne who said: "The Government's strategy is for RBS to be a stronger and safer bank, which in time can be returned to full private ownership.

"I have been very clear that I want to see RBS as a British-based bank, focused on serving British businesses and consumers, with a smaller international investment bank to support that activity rather than to rival it."

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Armed Forces Facing £11bn More Cuts Warning

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

More redundancies could be made in the UK Armed Forces, according to new analysis of the defence budget.

The respected Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) claims cuts to budgets are "likely" in 2015, despite hopes that the worst was over.

According to the Institute's calculations, the military might have to accept that budget savings need to be made of around "£11bn ... over 10 years as a result of the decisions taken in Autumn Statement 2012 and Spending Review 2013".

"The MoD is likely to face a very difficult 2015 spending review, especially if the country's wider fiscal position remains as difficult as is now projected," RUSI predicts.

The Ministry of Defence recently announced the latest round of redundancies that will affect the army, with 5,300 soldiers to lose their jobs in June.

The RUSI report said the MoD does not face a problem "comparable in magnitude to the black hole it faced in the 2010 Spending Review", but it concluded that the UK's overall economic outlook will lead to reduced budgets.

In response, Philip Dunne, the Defence, Equipment, Support and Technology Minister, said: "The MoD budget for 2015/16 will be set this summer and the budget for subsequent years will be finalised in the next full spending review.

"The Treasury has made clear that the MoD may plan on receiving a 1% real-terms increase in the equipment budget from 2015/16 onwards.

"This has been endorsed by the Prime Minister. Our Armed Forces will remain a formidable fighting force, backed by the fourth-largest defence budget in the world."

RUSI concluded that the best hope for a return to defence spending is a recovery in the overall economy - something that the Government cannot seem to achieve.

However, this worst-case-scenario painted by RUSI is based on hypothetical outcomes and will be regarded by some as unrealistic and scare-mongering.

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Belfast: Rocket Launcher And Warhead Found

A rocket launcher and a warhead have been discovered by police investigating dissident republicans in West Belfast, police said.

Officers found the weapons, which were intended to kill, while searching a house in Hawthorn Street, said a spokesman from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

The spokesman said: "These weapon systems are clearly intended to kill and we should be in no doubt that the recovery of these items has saved lives."

Dissidents have been linked to a series of attempts to kill members of the security forces, including soldiers, police and a prison officer.

The weapons were found in west Belfast

Earlier this month Irish police intercepted a suspected dissident republican haul of rocket launchers and explosives in Co Tipperary, which were believed to be en route to Northern Ireland.

The police spokesman said: "Detectives from PSNI serious crime branch have this evening recovered a rocket launcher and warhead from a house.

"The search was conducted in relation to ongoing dissident republican activity."

The items have been taken away for forensic examination. Police have been on high alert for more attacks in Northern Ireland for some time.

Earlier officers expressed concern about helping police at the G8 this summer in Northern Ireland because of the danger.

PSNI chief constable Matt Baggott has warned he needs more officers to cope with the security threat and other unrest.

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Horsemeat: Tesco To Source More Meat From UK

By Poppy Trowbridge, Business and Economics Correspondent

Tesco is to announce a commitment to source more of its meat from the UK at a farming conference in Birmingham later.

The supermarket kingpin will tell the National Farmers Union meeting that by July all its chicken will come from British farms, and pork products will follow.

Tesco will also offer suppliers two-year contracts to help companies plan their business for the longer term.

The company's chief executive, Phillip Clarke, who will address the conference today, told Sky News: "We feel the need to bring the food closer to home.

"We think it's right to bring more of it back to the UK, so long as we can get the demand from the UK."

Earlier this month, Mr Clarke said in a video on Tesco's website that the company would take a more open approach to food processing after it was found to be selling products contaminated with horsemeat.

Tesco was one of the first retailers to pull products from its shelves after the horsemeat contamination was revealed on January 16 after analysis was undertaken by Irish food officials.

Tesco has blamed its suppliers for the meat contamination

Tests on Findus beef lasagne revealed that some of the ready meals were made entirely from horsemeat.

And Tesco found levels of horse DNA exceeded 60% in tests on its Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese.

Since the horsemeat scandal broke, supermarkets have been criticised for not communicating with customers quickly enough.

They have also seen frozen burger sales and ready meal sales plunge dramatically, data by Kantar Worldpanel showed.

In an attempt to be more transparent, Tesco said it would put cameras on the supply chain so shoppers could see where the food they are eating has come from and how it was produced.

"There's nothing for anybody to hide. There never should be," said Mr Clarke.

While it already sources all its beef products from the UK and Ireland, the food retailer admits suppliers had cut corners.

"The impact so far on sales is minimal," Mr Clarke added, though he acknowledged that some customers are buying fewer frozen ready meals.

George MacDonald, Retail Week executive editor, told Sky News, "The shopper can feel fairly confident that anybody involved is going to be looking very closely indeed at how they can sort out these problems."

As the nation's biggest supermarket, Tesco should be at the forefront of campaign to restore trust in food, Mr MacDonald believes.

"It is essential for them to fully reconnect with the customer," he said.

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Military Complaints: MPs Want Ombudsman

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

Bullying and harassment are on the increase in the UK armed services and the system needs to change, according to a senior group of politicians.

Their report goes on to claim that the existing structure within the military is incapable of dealing with complaints because it is inefficient and complicated.

The House of Commons Defence Select Committee has spoken out against the current complaints procedure and made it clear that an Armed Forces Ombudsman should be appointed to rectify this.

Committee chairman James Arbuthnot has claimed "there are too many reports of Service personnel being reluctant to raise genuine complaints and grievances".

Replacing the Service Complaints Commissioner with an Armed Forces Ombudsman would hold "the Services to account for the proper administration of their complaints processes and the delivery of justice, and identifying possible improvements to the system".

However, the committee made clear its disappointment that the Ministry of Defence has not taken its wishes onboard.

Among other recommendations, the politicians want the performance of Commanding Officers to be monitored when facing complaints.

"There are still too many instances of delay and inefficiency, in part caused by a lack of resources," Mr Arbuthnot said.

"This must be dealt with urgently so as to ensure there is confidence in the system and the Commissioner.

"Our Servicemen and Servicewomen deserve a complaints system that is as good as it can be. Not to provide this would be a failure of the nation's duty to them."

The report does recognise that more complaints could be an indication of a more effective system and admits that the number of sexual harassment complaints remains low - although it questions how faithful these statistics are.

The report cites fear of redundancy as one reason why many serving personnel might chose not to make complaints.

Because of cuts to the UK defence budgets, thousands of staff are losing their jobs across all three services. They have asked the military to investigate this fear and report back immediately.

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Lack Of Sleep Impacts On Gene Activity

One week of poor sleep can disrupt hundreds of genes linked to stress, immunity and inflammation, research has shown.

Scientists think the discovery could explain why lack of sleep can have a devastating impact on health.

For the new study, researchers examined gene activity in 26 sleep-deprived volunteers.

They found that insufficient sleep had an impact on more than 700 genes. Some had their activity dampened, while others became extra-active.

Those affected included genes associated with the "body clock" cycle, metabolism, and immune and stress responses.

Poor sleep also altered chromatin - the DNA and protein "packaging" that plays an important role in gene regulation.

The researchers believe their findings may be particularly relevant to people working long hours in industrialised societies.

The scientists, led by University of Surrey sleep expert Professor Derk-Jan Dijk, analysed RNA - the messenger chemical that delivers coded "instructions" from the genes to cells - in the blood of volunteers.

Participants were exposed to a week of poor sleep during which they slept no more than six hours a night. At the end of this time, they had to stay awake for around 40 hours while samples were collected at three-hourly intervals.

The results were compared with the effect on the same volunteers of sleeping up to 10 hours a night for a week. Again, samples were taken when volunteers stayed awake for a long period at the end of the study.

The scientists noted: "Sleep obtained in the sleep-restriction condition was not sufficient to maintain alertness or performance."

Meanwhile, a new study has found two out of five office staff are working under "dangerously high" stress levels.

A survey of 2,000 workers from private companies as well as the NHS and police, revealed that stress at work affected their health.

Just over half those studied said they worked more than 10 hours unpaid overtime every week.

Neil Shah, who conducted tests on hundreds of workers as part of the study, said: "This research shows that many people in the UK today are working under some dangerous levels of stress - they may not even be aware of how stressed they are."

The research, by office supplies firm Viking, showed that some employees such as teachers, blamed incompetent colleagues for stress.

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Ben Nevis Climber Killed In 165ft Fall

A climber has died after falling 50 metres (165ft) on Ben Nevis.

The man was climbing with a friend in the Raeburn's Buttress area of the UK's highest mountain, in the Scottish Highlands, when he fell at around 12.30pm on Monday.

Two helicopters flew to the scene with Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, but the man died during the rescue.

Police are trying to establish the exact circumstances around the death and will not release information on the victim until his family have been informed.

Raeburn's Buttress is a popular climbing area on the north face of Ben Nevis, which stands at 1,344 metres (4,409ft).

Last month a 22-year-old climber died after falling 100 metres on the mountain.

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April Jones Murder: Mark Bridger On Trial

Former lifeguard Mark Bridger will go on trial today accused of the murder of schoolgirl April Jones.

Bridger, 47, was arrested the day after the five-year-old vanished while playing on her bike near her home in Machynlleth, Wales, on October 1 last year.

April vanished in October last year

The disappearance of April, who had cerebral palsy, sparked a massive outpouring of support for her family, with hundreds of people joining the search.

The girl's body has never been found despite a major operation led by Dyfed Powys Police.

Bridger, of Ceinws, is charged with abducting and murdering April, and of unlawfully disposing of and concealing her body with intent to pervert the course of justice.

He pleaded not guilty to the allegations on January 14 when his barrister Brendan Kelly QC told Mold Crown Court that Bridger is "probably responsible" for her death.

The trial, also at Mold, is expected to be occupied with legal matters and jury selection today and is due to open later this week.

On the day she went missing, Mr and Mrs Jones had allowed April to play out late as a treat after she received a glowing report from school.

Bridger was arrested the following day.

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Nick Clegg On Rennard: I've Nothing To Hide

Nick Clegg has insisted he has "nothing to hide" over the handling of allegations about sexual harassment by his party's former chief executive.

The Deputy Prime Minister is facing accusations of a cover-up after admitting he knew five years ago about the claims against Lord Rennard.

Several women have accused the peer of inappropriately touching and propositioning female party workers, which he strenuously denies.

Mr Clegg admitted on Sunday that his office had been aware of "indirect and non-specific concerns" about his conduct back in 2008 but insists he acted appropriately.

And on Monday, he again insisted: "I have got nothing to hide, the party has nothing to hide.

Mr Clegg said Danny Alexander put the concerns to Lord Rennard

"We have now got to listen to the women who feel they weren't properly listened to and get to the truth and that is what we will do."

He added: "I totally understand people have got lots and lots of questions but I hope I have given a full, frank, honest account.

In his statement on Sunday, the leader had said: "I am angry and outraged at the suggestion that I would not have acted if these allegations had been put to me.

"Indeed, when indirect and non-specific concerns about Chris Rennard's conduct reached my office in 2008, we acted to deal with them.

"My chief of staff at the time, Danny Alexander, put these concerns to Chris Rennard and warned him that any such behaviour was wholly unacceptable.

"Chris Rennard categorically denied that he had behaved inappropriately and he continues to do so. He subsequently resigned as chief executive on health grounds."

Lib Dem President Tim Farron, who is conducting a review into how the party dealt with the allegations, has acknowledged it "screwed this up".

Lord Rennard strenuously denies the claims

"We screwed this up as a party. There are individuals out there who we had a duty of care towards and we did not fulfil that duty of care," he said on Monday.

He had earlier told Sky News: "My guess is that the party has indeed let itself down in the past and not dealt with these complaints when they were put."

Mr Clegg's aides have said he only learned about the specific complaints made against Lord Rennard after a Channel 4 News report last week.

The women claim they reported Lord Rennard's alleged behaviour to senior party officials at the time, but no further action was taken.

The peer was a key party strategist and adviser to a succession of Liberal Democrat leaders before standing down due to ill health in 2009.

He said he was "deeply shocked" by the allegations, which he "strongly disputes" and regards as a "total distortion" of his character.

Lib Dem MP Vince Cable said: "It's obviously wrong if there are women there who have made complaints and felt they weren't dealt with properly, so we are now setting up a proper investigative process - we want an independent element to that - and we'll get to the bottom of it."

Asked on the BBC's Andrew Marr show whether he knew about the allegations before the Channel 4 show, he said: "Absolutely not."

Former Lib Dem head of press Mark Littlewood said: "Nick Clegg is definitely going to have to outline and spell out in exact detail what he knew and when and what actions he took."

Labour's shadow minister for equalities and women, Kate Green, said: "At issue is not just a series of serious allegations from a number of women, but how the Liberal Democrat Party responded to those allegations.

"Only with a fully independent investigation can the public have confidence that the truth will prevail and lessons learned for the future."

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Two Police Officers Injured In Hit And Run

Two people have been held on suspicion of attempted murder after police officers were injured in a hit and run in Manchester.

The male officers pulled over the vehicle - believed to be a red Hyundai - at about 10.50pm on Sunday on Rochdale Road in Harpurhey, when it hit them and drove off.

One of the officers was able to use his radio to call for help and extra patrols were sent to the scene, along with paramedics.

Their injuries are not life threatening - one officer suffered a fractured skull with bleeding to the brain, while the other suffered a broken wrist.

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: "The two officers were out on patrol when they pulled over a car they believed was travelling at excess speed.

"However, as they were approaching the car on foot, the car was deliberately put into reverse and driven at the two officers.

"As a result, one of the officers suffered a fractured wrist and the other a fractured skull. Both men are in hospital receiving treatment and their families are with them. Our thoughts are with both the officers and their families as they recover from their injuries.

"Sadly, what this incident painfully highlights is the dangers officer face every day when protecting the public. What should have been a routine vehicle stop resulted in two officers being deliberately driven at and suffering serious injuries.

"I know the friends and colleagues of both officers will be anxious to know how the two men are doing, as it is always very unsettling when friends and colleagues are injured in the line of duty, so we will be offering support to anyone who needs it.

"What I do want to stress is that as a result of inquiries, we quickly traced what we believe to be the offending car to an address in Haslingden and arrested two people on suspicion of attempted murder.

"Those individuals remain in custody for questioning and we would continue to appeal to anyone who either witnessed the incident or has information to come forward."

A car has been taken for forensic analysis.

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Banksy Mural Withdrawn From Auction

By Liz Lane, Sky News Reporter

A Banksy work that was removed from the side of a north London Poundland shop under mysterious circumstances has been withdrawn from sale in the US.

The world's most famous street artist painted the mural on the side of Poundland in Wood Green last May, before the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Called Slave Labour, it showed a boy hunched over a sewing machine making Union Flag bunting.

It was suddenly removed from the wall last weekend, to the anger of local people, and turned up at Fine Art Auctions in Miami where it was expected to fetch up to £460,000 ($700,000).

It looks like a week-long campaign by Haringey Council to stop the sale may have worked as, at the last-minute, the lot was pulled.

A spokesman for the Florida auction house said there were "no legal issues" regarding the sale but that it had decided to withdraw two Banksy lots. No further explanation was given.

Wood Green councillor Alan Strickland said: "To have the mural withdrawn from sale at the 11th hour is a wonderful surprise for the community here in Wood Green.

"It suggests the level of international media attention has had a real impact."

Mr Strickland emailed FAA owner Frederic Thut to ask why the sale had not gone ahead and if there were any plans to auction it in the future.

"Local people have already been in touch about the brilliant news, but we need to know what's going to happen now," he said.

A stencil of a rat holding a sign saying "Why?" has appeared on the wall

"It seems like we're half-way there. The next step is to get it returned."

It is still unclear who intended to sell the artwork via the auction house, but the Metropolitan Police had said there had not been any reports of theft.

A solicitor for Wood Green Investments, which owns the Poundland site, told Sky News: "My clients do not court publicity, but find themselves in the quite remarkable position that if they deny removing the mural then they will become embroiled in an international criminal investigation that has already involved the FBI.

"But if they admit to consenting to the removal of the mural then they will become the target of abuse."

The episode has started a debate about who, if anyone, owns street art.

Artist "Stik" is clear about who he paints for: "Street artists are putting their work on the street for people. It's for communities, and it's an artistic expression. It's a public gallery. It's open 24 hours a day and it's the biggest gallery in the world, because it is the world."

This isn't this first time murals have been removed to be sold for huge sums. French artist Thierry Noir contributed to the longest concrete painting in the world on the Berlin Wall.

He told Sky News that when the wall came down, his work was stripped by East German soldiers and sold in Monaco for £2m: "It was the soldiers so what can I do against soldiers? Nothing except look at those soldiers.

"It took them one week to take the complete pieces I paint in Berlin, but it was too strong for me so I had to accept it."

A rat holding up a sign saying "Why?" has been stencilled next to the empty space where the Banksy mural stood, with some speculating it could be another work by the elusive artist.

Whether Slave Labour will be returned to the community it was meant for, remains as mysterious as the artist.

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Doctors From Abroad Must Take English Test

By Lisa Dowd, Sky News Correspondent

New checks will be introduced to make sure all NHS doctors can speak English well enough to treat patients, the Government has announced.

It comes five years after David Gray, 70, was killed by a German doctor on his first out-of-hours shift in the UK.

Daniel Ubani accidentally gave the pensioner 10 times the recommended dose of the painkiller diamorphine.

The locum was struck off the medical register in the UK, but still practises in Germany, despite admitting death by negligence in a German court.

Mr Gray's son Stuart, 53, himself a GP, said: "What Ubani had done was try to register with Leeds PCT (Primary Care Trust).

"They'd made him sit an English language test to see if he was proficient. He failed that, so he decided to apply to another PCT, this being Cornwall.

"They didn't bother to test his English language skills, put him on the list, once he was on the list he can practise anywhere in the country and he then went to practise in Cambridgeshire where he killed my father."

Daniel Ubani caused the death of 70-year-old David Gray (pictured)

Last year, research by Pulse magazine for GPs found that 792 EU doctors were on the so-called "performers lists" of 51 Primary Care Trusts, allowing them to work in the UK. Of those, 657 doctors, or 83%, hadn't had their English skills tested.

From April 1 there will be one national list which every GP will have to be on before treating patients. There will also be a legal duty to ensure those on it have good English.

Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said: "It's not something that should cause huge public alarm, but it's something that we do know from the case of Doctor Daniel Ubani, and other doctors, who are sometimes flown in to do short-term locums in the NHS from Europe, that it is something that has actually caused deaths in this country.

"That's completely unacceptable and that's why we're introducing language checking for all overseas doctors including those within the EU."

But Dr Gray, of Blakedown, Worcestershire, has his doubts. He said: "I'd like to know how they're going to police it.

"If they say it's going to be illegal for the doctor to work here if they can't communicate in English, well, it was illegal for Cornwall PCT to put Ubani on their list, and no one has been held to account for breaking the law there."

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'Appalling Tragedy' Of Caravan Park Deaths

The deaths of a woman and her elderly parents at a caravan park in Cornwall have been described as an "appalling tragedy".

The victims are all believed to have died of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

The alarm was raised at the park near Camborne just before 1pm after the couple's helper was unable to reach them, Devon and Cornwall Police have said.

Firefighters were called to break into the static caravan at Tremarle Home Park, North Roskear, and found the bodies of three people, and a dog, inside.

The woman was aged in her mid-40s. The age of her parents is not yet known.

The caravan site where the bodies were found

Inspector David Eldridge of Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Shortly before 1pm this afternoon, we were called to a caravan park near Camborne in Cornwall, where a helper had been unable to get a reply from an elderly couple who lived in the caravan.

"We were able to see that there was a figure sat in a chair but they were unresponsive to knocks at the door.

"Cornwall Fire and Rescue were called. They forced entry into the property and found that the three occupants were all dead."

An investigation into what caused the deaths is under way, but the incident is not being treated as suspicious.

A Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said a crew from Camborne Community Fire Station attended the scene with a hazardous materials advisor after being called at 12.56pm.

Camborne Town Council member David Biggs described the deaths as an "appalling tragedy".

"Tremarle Park is a residential caravan site and has provided homes for people for many years. It's a well established facility and is very well run. It was a shock to learn that three people have died there."

Stephanie Trotter, president and director of the independent charity CO-Gas Safety, said carbon monoxide was an incredibly lethal gas.

"Less than 2% of CO (carbon monoxide) can kill in between one and three minutes. It cannot be sensed using human senses of smell, touch, sight or hearing," she said.

"The Department of Health estimates that about 40-50 people die of CO and about 4,000 attend Accident and Emergency every year in England and Wales alone."

Mrs Trotter added: "We are very sorry to read of these tragic deaths. We send sympathy to family and friends and offer free, confidential help and advice."

The Health and Safety Executive said it would not be investigating as the incident took place at a domestic address.

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