Sex Education: Online Porn 'Should Be Included'

Sex and relationship education in schools must address the issue of internet porn, David Cameron has insisted.

But the Prime Minister said there was no need for wholesale reform and parents must learn more about how to protect their children from accessing pornography on the internet.

Mr Cameron admitted he was still "grappling" with how to talk with his own children about online dangers.

Mr Cameron is "grappling" with how to teach his own children

He said: "We need to make sure we are up to date on the problems of the internet.

"Where I absolutely agree with the Education Secretary is that I am not looking for wholesale reform of the curriculum on sex education.

"We should be alert to those points and make those changes, but I don't think we need wholesale reform."

He added: "We have all got to get involved because of the internet. We all have to learn more about the internet, the dangers of the internet, the issue of access for children."

Parents had to be ready to talk to their children about pornography and to educate themselves about the use of parental controls to limit what their children can access, he said.

Mr Cameron added: "Because so much computer access goes on in the home, I am afraid we are all going to have to get better at understanding all these issues around parental controls."

It comes after Education Secretary Michael Gove ruled out an overhaul of the Government's guidance on sex education, hours after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg publicly called for it to be updated.

Mr Gove said the guidance had been recently reviewed, but experts suggested there was no point altering it because "technology changes so rapidly".

The guidance has remained the same for more than a decade and critics claim it has been overtaken by technological changes.

Campaigners want schoolchildren to be taught about internet pornography, social media and relationships as well as the practicalities of how reproduction works.

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Buckingham Palace Break-In: Two Arrested

Security Scares For Royal Family

Updated: 6:27am UK, Saturday 07 September 2013

The break-in at Buckingham Palace is the latest in a series of security scares involving the Royal Family.

:: In March 2011, a car carrying the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall was mobbed by demonstrators who had split from a protest against higher university tuition fees.

Camilla was visibly distressed after being poked in the ribs with a stick through an open window in the distinctive Rolls-Royce Phantom VI as she and Charles travelled to the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium.

:: In 2003, comedian Aaron Barschak managed to get into Prince William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle.

The self-styled "comedy-terrorist" set off a series of alarms and was caught on CCTV before he joined 300 guests at the bash and was removed.

:: In 1994, student David Kang charged at Charles while firing a starting pistol during a ceremony in Sydney, Australia.

Kang was wrestled to the ground by New South Wales premier John Fahey and another man, while Charles was praised for his calm reaction.

:: In 1981, six blank shots were fired from the crowd while the Queen rode during the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

The Queen's horse was startled but she managed bring it back under control while police rushed to grab the shooter.

:: In 1974, Princess Anne was the target of an apparent kidnap attempt in The Mall near Buckingham Palace.

Four people, including her bodyguard, Jim Beaton, were injured after shots were fired when their car was forced to halt by another vehicle which blocked their route.

A police officer chased the driver, Ian Ball, and brought him to the ground before arresting him.

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Millions 'Should Not Be In A&E' - Exclusive

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

Up to 6.5 million patients every year should avoid going to A&E and be treated by GPs, paramedics and even chemists instead, the doctor leading the review of NHS emergency services claims today.

Around one third of all people who visit A&E each year could be diverted away from hospital under plans to be unveiled shortly by NHS chiefs.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, the doctor in charge of re-shaping emergency services in England said family doctors, ambulance staff and pharmacists could treat them instead to relieve the pressure on A&E.

Indicating for the first time how he hopes to radically reform A&E, Professor Keith Willett, the national director for Acute Episodes of Care, said: "We know that 15% to 30% of people who turn up to be treated at A&E could have been treated in general practice.

"They did not know that because the system did not obviously make itself available to them."

He said patients with routine medical problems are going to A&E because they cannot get a quick enough appointment with their GP. Others are frustrated by out-of-hours services.

Prof Willett says a long-term solution is needed

"We can look at the way primary care is available to people," he said.

"By changing the way we deliver services we can start to address the demand. We can do the same thing in terms of the ambulance services and how much, how many patients they treat, at the scene, rather than transfer and that's about them having the right information.

"We would look to the public to understand the issues and when the situation does get difficult, to take the advice that I've suggested about phoning first, to get the right advice, to go to the right place, to think of using your general practitioner or indeed your pharmacist, (who) give a lot of advice for minor ailments."

Professor Willett and the medical director for NHS England, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, will publish their plan for reforming emergency services later this autumn. It is expected to be implemented two years from now.

The plan will acknowledge that demand for care will continue to rise with an ageing population. But it will set out a series of measures for reducing pressure on A&E departments.

They are expected to include:

:: A&E units will have to ensure a consultant is available seven days a week

:: Other senior doctors, such as elderly care specialists, will be expected to help assess and treat patients arriving at A&E

:: Paramedics will treat more patients at home or by the roadside so they don't need hospital care

:: Patients will be encouraged to 'ring first', using the NHS111 helpline to be directed towards appropriate care.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt wants GPs to be more proactive

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has also said GPs must take on a bigger role. Next week he will call on GPs to do more to prevent patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, from suffering emergency complications.

In an interview for State Of Emergency, Sky News' 24 hours of live coverage from Nottingham's Queen Medical Centre which begins today at 5pm, Mr Hunt said: "The role of GPs in caring for older people needs to be proactive - checking up on people, finding out how they are, heading off problems before they happen - rather than reactive.

"GPs are busy, so to make that happen we have to find ways of getting more capacity in the system and that is a big challenge.

"But we have to address that. In the end, if the NHS is to be sustainable, it has to be about prevention as much as cure."

But GPs say they are already doing what they can.

Professor Mike Pringle, president of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: "They are overwhelmed by the workload they are expected to deliver.

"We have got to start to build general practice, not blame it, not victimise it.

"We have to invest in it if we are going to solve these problems. And I am sure the Secretary of State recognises that."

England's A&E departments were under severe pressure last winter.

Waiting times reached their worst in nine years between January and March 2013, with more than 300,000 patients waiting more than four hours for treatment.

The Government has given the NHS an extra £500m over two years to find short-term solutions to the likely rise in demand for emergency care in the winter months.

Hospitals could bring GPs into A&E departments to see patients with more minor problems and more locum A&E doctors are likely to be employed to fill vacancies.

Only half the training posts for emergency medicine have been filled in the last two years, and more than a third of hospital trusts have vacancies for A&E consultants.

Professor Willett said a long-term solution is required.

"We do have to address the emergency medicine workforce," he said.

"But that will not produce new consultants for several years. So we have to manage the situation and take away from emergency medicine teams those patients who could be managed by other parts of the system.

"Defaulting to seeing an emergency medicine consultant is not necessary for many of those patients and it is frustrating to wait."

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Police Chief: 60% Of Crimes Not Investigated

The head of Britain's second largest police force has admitted that 60% of all crimes reported in his area are not investigated.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy said his officers are only able to follow up about 40% of offences.

He said his force targets persistent offenders who commit the most crimes.

His admission comes against a backdrop of huge cuts to police spending, which will see force budgets slashed by 20% in real terms by 2015.

Sir Peter, who is vice-president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said: "In the same way that the health service concentrates on the most serious illnesses and the treatments likely to have most effect, the police have to concentrate on the most serious crimes and those where there are lines of investigation likely to produce evidence of the offender.

Sir Peter Fahy says officers are only able to follow up about 40% of crimes

"In practice, this translates into about 40% of crime being actively pursued at any time.

"We look at all crimes to identify patterns of offending and to build the picture of where we need to target police patrols. In many crimes there are no witnesses, no CCTV and no forensic opportunities."

Blackley and Broughton Labour MP Graham Stringer criticised his comments and said taxpayers expect officers to investigate criminal behaviour.

"That sounds like bureaucratic gobbledegook. De-prioritising the majority of crime is bound to lead to a loss of confidence in the police force," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"I think those victims (whose crimes aren't investigated) have every right to be angry. They have an expectation, having paid their council tax, that they have a better service from the police force."

Javed Khan, chief executive of independent charity Victim Support, said: "It is clearly for the police to decide how best to catch criminals, and prioritise their resources in line with this.

"However, for victims and the public to have confidence in the police, they need to know that, when they make a report, it will be taken seriously and adequately assessed.

"Likewise, any decisions to pursue or otherwise must be properly explained to them."

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Teachers To Stage New Strikes Over Pay Row

Teachers are planning a fresh round of strikes in October in a move that will affect hundreds of schools.

Two teaching unions have announced their members will walk out in eight areas of England next month in a long-running row over pay, pensions and workload.

A national walkout is likely to follow before Christmas.

The new strikes, on two days in October, are the latest move in the campaign by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the NASUWT over Government education reforms.

The Government has condemned the unions' rolling campaign of walkouts and said it is disruptive to pupils' education.

NUT and NASUWT members in the East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside and the Eastern region will take part in a walkout on October 1.

Those in the North East, London, the South East and the South West will strike on October 17.

Teachers are "angry, frustrated and concerned" about the Government's reforms, the unions said.

No strike dates have been announced for Wales because the Welsh government has sought to engage with teachers over the key issues, the NUT and NASUWT added.

Education Secretary Michael Gove wrote to both unions in March to say he was willing to meet them to discuss their dispute, but also insisted that the "direction of travel" on both their key issues was "fixed".

Under the Government's reforms, due to come into effect from this autumn, teachers' pay will be linked to performance in the classroom - with schools setting salaries rather than following a national framework.

Changes have also been made to public sector pensions.

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Sheppey Crash: 100 Cars Collide On Bridge

More than 100 vehicles have been involved in a pile-up in misty conditions on the New Sheppey Crossing bridge.

Police say there are no reports of fatalities, but "there could be people trapped" in their cars following the collision about 7.15am today.

A Kent Police spokeswoman said visibility was a problem over the bridge at the time, but it was not clear whether that caused the pile-up.

Five people have been cut free from their cars (Pic: Chris Buckingham)

"There have been some injuries but we cannot say at the moment how serious they are," the spokeswoman said.

There are reports that six people have been seriously injured, with another 200 suffering minor injuries.

Up to 30 medical response vehicles are on the scene and motorists have been warned to avoid the area.

Driver Joe Ford told Sky News: "You don't often see fog at the top of the bridge, but the bridge is over a river and marshland so there is often fog at the lower levels."

The crash occurred on the New Sheppey Crossing bridge in Kent

Martin Stammers, a witness to the crash, said: "I was very, very lucky. I was the last car out of it.

"As I came to the top of the hill there were about five cars all smashed up.

"I hit my brakes hard and I parked about 100 yards down the road, and from then on all you could hear was the screeching of car tyres."

A statement from the Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: "There are no fatalities but ambulance crews are dealing with a large number of walking wounded casualties.

"Firefighters have used hydraulic cutting equipment to release five people from their vehicles."

A statement from Kent Police said: "Emergency services are currently at the scene dealing with the incident.

"Officers are urging motorists to avoid the area but if a journey to the Island is essential, the old Kingsferry Bridge remains open but expect long delays."

More follows...

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Young Brits 'Could Miss Digital Jobs Boom'

Up to 750,000 jobs could be created in the next five years to fuel Britain's "burgeoning" digital economy, a report has predicted.

Mobile phone giant O2 said the continued growth of the digital sector offers "fantastic opportunities for tech-savvy young people", but warned not enough was being done to harness their skills.

Ronan Dunne, chief executive of the company's parent firm Telefonica, told Sky News: "If we don't generate those jobs using British youngsters with the right skills, businesses will have to look overseas.

"With the situation in the UK, where one million young people are out of work, we have to make sure we get the schooling elements right, the employer elements right and the readiness for work right."

Research by O2 suggests that 20% of the 750,000 possible vacancies would be entry-level jobs, suitable for people entering the world of work for the first time.

Many roles would be linked to the nationwide roll-out of 4G technology, which offers faster mobile internet speeds.

However, Mr Dunne said employers must show a greater willingness to recruit school leavers in order for the digital jobs boom to have a noticeable impact on youth unemployment.

"The onus cannot be on the Government alone," he said.

"Businesses must proactively seek out opportunities to collaborate to maximise the digital growth opportunity and harness the potential of the next generation.

"As digital natives, young people possess valuable skills that will be the future fuel of our economy, but not enough is being done to harness them."

Mr Dunne's comments came at the opening of Campus Party Europe, one of the world's biggest technology festivals.

Up to 60,000 young people are expected to attend the week-long event at The O2 in London.

As well as 100 guest speakers, the event features a digital skills marketplace, where school leavers can meet potential employers, and a hackathon, which aims to teach young people basic coding skills.

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Dementia Patients Feel 'Trapped' In Their Homes

More than 180,000 dementia sufferers in the UK feel "trapped in their own homes", according to research from the Alzheimer's Society.

It said 35% of people with dementia only leave their homes once a week, and one in 10 get out just once a month.

The charity's new report, based on a poll of 510 people with dementia, says many sufferers are not able to take part in activities they enjoyed before they developed the condition.

Almost one in 10 (9%) said they had stopped doing all the things they used to do, and 28% said they have had to give up leaving their homes altogether.

The Alzheimer's Society called on communities across the country to be more "dementia friendly" to help patients remain independent and get out more.

Improving stigma around the condition, having accessible transport, and businesses being "respectful and responsive" are all factors that could improve quality of life for sufferers, a charity spokeswoman said.

Alzheimer's Society chief executive Jeremy Hughes said: "It's shocking and saddening that so many people with dementia feel trapped and cut off from everyday local life.

The Alzheimer's Society says communities need to be more dementia friendly

"It's encouraging to see some communities have started on their journey of change but it needs to be a priority for everyone to act now."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "The dementia time bomb is one of the most pressing challenges this country faces in the years ahead.

"We have made real progress in starting to tackle this challenge, with over £50m going towards dementia friendly health and care environments, and the first ever G8 Dementia Research Summit to be held in December this year.

"But this report makes clear that we need to go further and faster to change attitudes and build awareness in our communities.

"This government is backing communities to give people with dementia all the help and support they need to live well with this illness."

An estimated 800,000 people suffer from dementia in the UK. Experts say this figure will soar to 1.7 million by 2051.

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'Crisis' Predicted Over Primary School Places

Rising demand for primary school places could soon see two pupils fighting for every place in some areas of the country, the Local Government Association has warned.

The LGA said teaching standards are already at risk as some schools are being forced to convert spaces such as libraries and music rooms into classrooms.

Others are having to reduce playground space or expand classes beyond the limit of 30 pupils, says the LGA - which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales.

It claims that by the start of the academic year in 2015, schools in Newmarket in Suffolk will be over-subscribed by almost 100%, with two pupils to every current available place.

In Costessey, Purfleet and central Croydon there will be at least 75% more demand than current places available.

And, by 2016, schools up and down the country from Bristol to Manchester will have to increase the number of school places by at least 20% to ensure every child gets a place.

Council leaders want the government to cut bureaucracy and let them bring in local solutions to solve the problem.

The LGA's David Simmonds said council efforts to find a place for every pupil were being "hampered by uncertainty and unnecessary restrictions".

Education Secretary Michael Gove blamed the last Labour government for the problems, claiming Tory warnings about the issue had been ignored.

He told Sky News: "We warned the last government that there was a need to invest more in new school places. They didn't listen to that message so we are having to clean up the situation now."

He admitted the shortage was now a "significant challenge" but moved to reassure parents that the Government and councils were working to ensure no children missed out.

"Free schools are only one part of the equation," he said.

"It is also the case that local authorities are using billions of pounds that we have given them in order to expand some existing schools and allow new schools to be created which will help meet the need for school places."

The Department of Education said the Government will have poured £5bn into created new school places by 2015, more than double that spent by Labour in the same timeframe.

Some 190,000 extra places have already been created since 2010 and another £7.5bn is due to be spend on funding 500,000 places by 2021.

A spokesman said: "We are building more free schools, letting the most popular schools expand, and intervening to drive up standards in weak primaries which have thousands of empty places simply because parents don't want to send their children there."

Demand for places is being driven by a booming UK birth rate.

More babies were born in 2011-12 than any year since 1972, according to the Office for National Statistics.

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Syria: Pressure For New Vote On UK Strikes

There are growing calls for David Cameron to consider a second parliamentary vote on military action in Syria if further evidence emerges that civilians were targeted by chemical weapons.

Washington has announced that hair and blood samples prove the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad has used sarin gas to attack civilians.

Secretary of State John Kerry has used interviews with several US news channels to suggest the case for military strikes is growing, adding that he is confident Congress will back military action when it is put to a vote next week.

In Britain, pressure is mounting for a second vote on whether to support a strike against the Assad regime.

Boris Johnson has become the latest senior politician to suggest a new bid for parliamentary support could be made.

Writing in the Telegraph, the Mayor of London said the use of chemical weapons for mass murder in Syria could not go unpunished.

"If there is new and better evidence that inculpates Assad, I see no reason why the Government should not lay a new motion before Parliament, inviting British participation - and then it is Ed Miliband, not David Cameron, who will face embarrassment," Mr Johnson wrote.

UN weapons inspectors have gathered evidence in Damascus

Mr Cameron ruled out the use of British force in Syria following a defeat in the Commons.

But the prospect of Parliament revisiting the issue has been raised since Mr Obama's announcement that he is seeking congressional support for a strike.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he could not foresee any circumstances in which the Government would return to Parliament on the same issue.

"We're not going to keep asking the same question of Parliament again and again. We live in a democracy, the executive cannot act in a way which clearly is not welcome to Parliament or the British people, so we're not proposing to do so."

He added: "I can't foresee any circumstances that we would go back to Parliament on the same question, on the same issue."

The rhetoric between Washington and the Syrian regime has grown increasingly hostile in recent days.

Mr Assad told state TV his country is capable of confronting any attack.

"The American threats of launching an attack against Syria will not discourage Syria away from its principles ... or its fight against terrorism supported by some regional and Western countries, first and foremost the United States of America," he said.

Mr Obama is seeking congressional support for a strike on Syria

Mr Obama has launched an intense lobbying effort in an attempt to sway sceptical US politicians to support a military strike.

Arab League foreign ministers have urged the United Nations and the international community to take "deterrent" action, while blaming the regime for the alleged chemical weapons assault.

According to US estimates, up to 1,429 people, including at least 426 children, were killed in the alleged chemical attack in Damascus last month.

France says it will hand over evidence to lawmakers proving President Assad's regime was behind the August 21 chemical weapons attack in Syria.

As the diplomatic wrangling continues, British MPs have called for answers from the Government over a chemicals trade deal with Syria signed months after the bloodshed started.

The Department for Business issued licences for the export of sodium fluoride and potassium fluoride to the war-torn country in January last year before revoking them several months later.

The chemicals are capable of being used to make nerve gas such as sarin as well as having a variety of industrial uses.

The Government said no chemicals were exported before the licence was revoked in June 2012 following EU sanctions but MPs said they intend to raise the issue at Westminster.

The SNP's Angus Robertson said: "This is utter hypocrisy from the UK Government - deploring chemical weapons in public whilst approving the sale of items needed to make them.

"I will be raising this at Westminster as soon as possible to find out what examination the UK Government made of where these chemicals were going, and what they were to be used for.

"Approving the sale of chemicals which can be converted into lethal weapons during a civil war is a very serious issue."

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Maths, English: Pupils Must Master Core GCSEs

Teenagers who do not get a C grade or above in GCSE maths and English will be required to continue learning the subjects until they gain the key qualifications under Government reforms.

The Government says the move will help ensure that young people have a good grasp of the two subjects in an attempt to end the "national scandal" of two in five teenagers leaving school without basic core skills.

The reforms will be introduced from the start of this term - which begins this week for many schools - and comes as the education participation age is raised to 17. In 2015 it will be raised to 18.

The Department for Education said that ideally, teenagers without C grades or higher in English and maths will continue studying for GCSEs in these subjects, although they can also take other qualifications such as functional skills and maths courses accredited by the exams regulator Ofqual as a "stepping stone" to GCSEs.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "Good qualifications in English and maths are what employers demand before all others.

"They are, quite simply, the most important vocational skills a young person can have. Young people must be able to demonstrate their understanding of these subjects."

Mr Gove has previously said that within a decade, he wants to see the vast majority of teenagers studying maths up to the age of 18, and the Government is developing a new set of post-16 qualifications in the subject.

Michael Gove's aim is to get pupils up to the age of 18 studying maths

The proposal was first put forward by Alison Wolf, the Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management at King's College London, in her 2011 review of vocational education.

At the time, she said it was "scandalous" that half of 16-year-olds were leaving school without good GCSEs in English and maths, and warned that it was a real failure of the education system that many of these youngsters would still not have these qualifications at age 18.

Prof Wolf said today that she was "delighted" by the move, adding: "It will have a hugely positive impact on the ability of hundreds of thousands of young people to get good jobs."

At the moment, around one in five young people in England continue studying maths past the age of 16, compared to other developed nations where the majority of students continue the subject.

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "School and college leaders fully recognise the need for all young people to acquire high levels of literacy and numeracy and is in favour of the raising of the participation age.

"However we have been expressing serious concerns to the Government for some time about the implementation of this very significant new policy about which there are many unanswered questions in the absence of a coherent and funded implementation plan.

"At a time when post 16 funding is being significantly reduced and feedback from ASCL members continues to show very different states of readiness in different parts of the country it is difficult to see how schools, colleges, employers and local authorities will be able to provide additional classes or recruit suitably qualified teachers."

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Michael Le Vell In Court For Sex Abuse Trial

Actor Michael Le Vell, who is accused of serious child sex offences, has arrived at court for his trial.

The Coronation Street star, who plays car mechanic Kevin Webster in the ITV soap, is facing 12 charges in all, which are five counts of rape, three of indecent assault, two counts of sexual activity with a child and two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

The 48-year-old is charged under his real name of Michael Turner. He denies all charges.

The father of two, originally from Manchester, is one of TV's most famous faces after playing garage owner and mechanic Kevin Webster for the past 30 years.

The alleged offences relate to one complainant and are said to have taken place between September 2002 and September 2010.

The law protects complainants in sexual offence cases and they cannot be named.

ITV has said he will not be appearing in any further episodes of the soap pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

The actor split from his wife, Janette Beverley, last year.

His trial before Judge Michael Henshell at Manchester Crown Court is scheduled to last around two weeks.

More follows ...

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Council Paints Nine Inch Double-Yellow Lines

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9:27am UK, Sunday 01 September 2013

Tiny: It is not known if this toy car received a parking ticket

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Suffolk Stabbing: Man Held Over Garden Death

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after another man was found stabbed to death in a garden.

Police were called to an address at Brooksfield in Bildeston, Suffolk at 4.15am and the victim was later pronounced dead at the scene.

A 44-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident and is being questioned by detectives at a station in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Police said.

The surrounding road has been closed off while police investigate the incident.

Anyone with information should call Suffolk Police on 101.

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Live Updates: Murnaghan

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9:49am UK, Sunday 01 September 2013

Dermot Murnaghan

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