Help To Buy: Doubts Over Success Of Scheme

By Poppy Trowbridge, Business and Economics Correspondent

The second phase of the government mortgage guarantee scheme Help to Buy is due to launch next week, three months earlier than expected - but experts are sceptical the initiative will help buyers.

Lack of capacity in the housing market and claims by banks which say they are not ready because they haven't received essential information from the Government threaten to leave many would-be buyers empty-handed.

Exclusive research by Sky News shows interest from potential buyers has skyrocketed since the Government surprised the market.

Property website Rightmove says clicks on its Help to Buy pages numbered 14,807 on Saturday, the day before last Sunday's surprise announcement.

When David Cameron revealed, on the eve of the Conservative Party conference, that the launch date had been brought forward from January - clicks, measuring potential buyer interest, spiked to 59,571.

Now, almost a week later, they remain far above average at 23,660.

But there is concern that pent-up demand cannot be met by existing market services.

Sky News has learned that the two taxpayer backed banks, Lloyds Banking Group and RBS, are not able to guarantee a launch date. Sky News understands both are waiting for further details from the Government.

Barclays has issued a statement saying it, too, is undecided.

"Whilst we cannot take a decision over participation in the new scheme before the terms are set, we are encouraged by the tone of the discussions so far," the bank said.

Estate agents are also worried that capacity to deal with a surge in interest is lacking.

Robert Ellice, of Clarke Hillyer, told Sky News: "At the moment we've got big delays in the whole process anyway, mortgages are still taking a long time to be offered and taking a long time to be verified on values."

Does that mean hopeful homebuyers will have to wait for Westminster to work out the finer details before others can catch up?

Mortgage manager Ray Boulger said: "The first details of mortgage rates under this scheme we are expecting on Tuesday from Halifax, but they are likely to be the only lender offering these mortgages for probably some weeks.

"From a buyer's perspective the good news is there will be 95% mortgages available from the biggest lender in the country, the bad news is there will be no competition."

He added: "But it is a start, you have got to start somewhere."

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Ondine's Curse: Girl With Ventilator Can Go Home

By Stephen Douglas, Sky News Reporter

A toddler is preparing to go home for the first time in her life after spending almost three years at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Maisie Harris suffers from a rare condition called Ondine's Curse, which means her brain does not tell her body to breathe, so she needs a ventilator to do it for her.

Now, thanks to a smaller, more portable ventilator, Maisie will be able to leave hospital and head home to Gillingham in Kent.

The new ventilator is intelligent enough to know when she is able to take her own breaths and when she is likely to have an episode and require ventilation.

Her mother Rachel Bridger told Sky News: "It's exciting, I'm nervous. It's all new going home. It'll be good to just be a normal family. You don't feel normal being in hospital so long.

"The last three years have been up and down, good and bad. You give up sometimes. I thought it might be the end of the road but she pulled through which is great news. I'm looking forward to taking her to the park and to her nan's.

"The new ventilator is the best thing she's ever had."

Maisie will leave hospital soon

Maisie, who turns three on October 23, has been at London's Great Ormond Street so long that staff held a going-home party. Maisie will leave the hospital with her family on Monday.

Ward manager Kate Harkus said: "It means a lot to the staff that she's going home. We feel very proud. We've nursed her through rocky times.

"There are very few machines in the world that will be able to support her at home. Technology is advancing so much that more companies are coming out with these ventilators that you can manage at home."

Maisie's parents have mostly been living in hospital accommodation ever since she was transferred to Great Ormond Street from Medway Maritime Hospital when she was three months old.

Her father Andrew Harris told Sky News: "It's been difficult. She was in intensive care going backwards and forwards. Now she's ready to go home it's all been worth it.

"I'm looking forward to seeing her go to school and growing up. We didn't think she'd get to this stage."

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Murder Probe After Pensioner Found Dead

Detectives have launched a murder investigation following the death of a woman in Barnet.

The woman, believed to be 69, was found at an address in Aitken Road in the early hours of Saturday.

A 42-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and has been taken into custody at a north London police station.

Police forced their way into the property after being called by ambulance crews, and found the woman's body inside. She was pronounced dead at 2.10am.

Next of kin are aware and a post-mortem examination will be carried out.

Detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command are leading the investigation.

Police said they were not currently seeking any other suspects in connection with the incident.

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'Yid Army' Chant: Spurs Fans Face Arrest

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

Spurs fans have been warned they face arrest if they persistently use "the Y word" while supporting their team.

The north London club has many Jewish supporters and chants of "Yid Army" and "Yiddos" are often heard at White Hart Lane.

But the Metropolitan Police has said the team's Premier League clash with West Ham on Sunday will see officers taking the matter more seriously.

Match Commander Chief Superintendent Mick Johnson told Sky News: "It does actually cause offence to some members of the Jewish community.

"We are going to go up to people first, engage firstly and try to explain to them what it means.

"Hopefully people will take that warning and desist from using the Y word.

"Anyone who continues to use it or fails to take on our advice may be subject to arrest."

A consultation has been taking place at the club but large groups still use the chants and recently chanted "we sing what we want" in response to the ongoing debate.

PM: Fans should not be prosecuted if the chant was not motivated by hatred

Chief Superintendent Johnson added: "It will take time but it is about making sure they understand the message but also understand the seriousness of the message."

Last month, the Prime Minister said fans should not be prosecuted if the chant was not motivated by hatred.

David Cameron said: "There's a difference between Spurs fans self-describing themselves as Yids and someone calling someone a Yid as an insult.

"You have to be motivated by hate. Hate speech should be prosecuted - but only when it's motivated by hate."

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust said it was aware of the police statement and was trying to clarify the position with club officials.

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Clifford: I'm Totally Innocent Of Sex Charges

PR guru Max Clifford has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of indecent assault.

Before the hearing at Southwark Crown Court he told reporters: "I'm totally innocent of these charges and I want to thank the public because everywhere I go I have had nothing but support which has made a huge difference."

He added: "It is not the nicest of situations but you have to face up to it."

The charges span from 1966 to 1985 and relate to teenage girls aged between 14-19 at the time of the alleged offences.

He is Britain's best known publicist and has had a long successful career in the media dealing with many high profile stories and clients.

Clifford was arrested at his home in Surrey last December.

He has previously described the police investigation as a "nightmare" for himself and his family.

More follows...

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Madeleine McCann: Police Probe Phone Records

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

Scotland Yard detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007 are analysing the mobile phone details of everyone who was in the Portuguese holiday resort from where she disappeared.

They are set to reveal new information about the hunt for the missing girl in a televised appeal in 10 days.

There are around three dozen British police officers working on what has been designated Operation Grange, but the officers leading the investigation say there has been increasing cooperation with the authorities in Portugal. 

Six Portuguese police officers based in Faro have been appointed to liaise with officers in London. 

The Metropolitan Police stress that they are "professional and committed" and were not involved in the original investigation, which remains closed.    

Assistant Commissioners Mark Rowley and Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood are also sending formal International Letters Of Request to 30 other countries asking for assistance with their inquiry, reflecting the range of nationalities likely to have been in the town on May 3, 2007. 

Detectives want to cross reference mobile phone data with other lines of inquiry, especially with individuals they have previously identified as "persons of interest". 

Madeleine was three-years-old when she vanished from her parents' rented apartment in the Algarve seaside town of Praia Da Luz. 

The Portuguese authorities closed their investigation after initially investigating her parents Kate and Gerry as possible suspects. 

The Home Office agreed to order a review of the case by the Metropolitan Police and in July it became a full blown investigation.

Officers have been looking into the backgrounds of 41 individuals, 15 of whom are UK nationals. 

Assistant Commissioner Rowley said three of these British citizens are on the verge of being eliminated from the inquiry.

It is a huge undertaking requiring extensive international cooperation. 

The phone data has always been available, and some of it has been examined before, but the trawl through thousands of phone numbers is the most thorough yet undertaken. 

DCI Redwood said the phone records could be the key to solving the mystery and he that it is not a "general trawl" for information but a "targeted attack" on possible key numbers.

"We've got a data set of phone traffic. Within that phone traffic you can see we've got some of those numbers we can attribute to people, but a large number of them we can't. So in a targeted way, we're trying to say in a particular moment in time, that is around the moment of opportunity, who's there."

"What we're trying to do is to use every route available to us to identify as many of them as possible and the phone data is one route into that, as are appeals. If you were in Praia da Luz at the time, you may get a routine phone call from the police."

The Metropolitan Police team say they have collated 39,148 documents from previous inquiries by both the Portuguese authorities, and eight different teams of private detectives hired by the McCanns.

So far 21,614 have been processed. Some 4,920 of those have necessitated follow up action and 2,123 lines of inquiry have been completed.

The new lines of inquiry will be publicised in a BBC Crimewatch programme on Monday, October 14. 

The police will not confirm if new photo-fits or artist impressions of possible suspects will be issued, but there will be a reconstruction of events in Praia Da Luz, and Madeleine's parents will be interviewed during the programme. 

Mr Rowley said: "It's important to stress, the Crimewatch appeal is not simply 'this is a live investigation has anyone got any information?' It is more than that. There is new information not previously presented. Fresh, substantive material upon which to make an appeal."

The McCanns will be accompanied by DCI Redwood, making it the first time the couple have made an appeal for information alongside an investigating officer. 

Every other public appeal they have made during the past six years has been on their own initiative. 

Press conferences in the days immediately after their daughter's disappearance were not organised by friends and advisers rather than the Portuguese Judicial Police. 

It will be a symbolic moment in the long inquiry , with Kate and Gerry McCann, once labelled "aguidos" in Portugal, and investigated as possible suspects, now officially supported by detectives investigating the case.

DCI Redwood said: "I have no reason to be anything other than confident in the McCanns. They have been thoroughly supportive of our inquiry and our relationship is very strong."

There will be similar appeals on TV programmes in Germany and the Netherlands, reflecting the high number of tourists from those countries who were in Praia Da Luz when Madeleine went missing.

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Murdered Keanu Williams Case Review Due

By Lisa Dowd, Midlands Correspondent

A serious case review into the death of a toddler who was murdered by his mother is likely to find authorities missed a number of opportunities to help him.

Rebecca Shuttleworth, 25, is serving life in prison for beating two-year-old Keanu Williams to death.

Birmingham Crown Court heard the youngster, known as Kiwi, was found with 37 injuries after paramedics were called to a house in Ward End in January 2011.

As well as a fractured skull, he suffered a fist-sized tear in his stomach which caused major bleeding.

He had been abused for months.

Following the trial, Jane Held, independent chair of the multi-agency Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board, which is due to report its findings, admitted there were "lessons to learn" from the case.

Shuttleworth, who was sentenced in June, was described as a "monster" by the detective who led the inquiry.

Chief Inspector Caroline Marsh added: "I can't understand how someone could do that to a two-year-old boy."

Keanu had 37 separate injuries when he was found by paramedics

Detective Superintendent Clare Cowley, of West Midlands Police, described the case as "an absolute tragedy" and said it must be prevented from happening again.

During the six-month trial, family and friends said Keanu was often neglected and wandered around with a soiled nappy for long periods.

Shuttleworth repeatedly explained Keanu's injuries away, saying he had been fighting with siblings or was clumsy.

The prosecution said Shuttleworth, who had attended parenting classes, used her knowledge of the care system to manipulate social workers, doctors and nursery staff into believing she was a competent mother.

Serious case reviews are launched whenever a child is suspected to have died as a result of neglect or abuse.

In August, a similar inquiry criticised Birmingham City Council for failing to properly investigate suspicions about paedophile nursery worker Paul Wilson, who was jailed for life for raping a child at Little Stars Nursery in Nechells.

In 2008, a review into the death of seven-year-old Khyra Ishaq, who was starved by her mother and stepfather in Handsworth, recommended a need for better communication between child protection agencies, among other findings.

Khalid Mahmood, the MP for Birmingham's Perry Barr, said there had been a "systematic failure" of children's services in the city.

"Since 2006, 22 serious case reviews have been published," he said.

"That's huge. People say it's because we're a big city but it's just not good enough.

"There have been five changes of heads in the last five years in the department, so there's no stability, and at any one time, 20% of staff are off sick. Something must be done."

Only last month, neighbouring authority Coventry City Council was slammed by a review board for failings in the case of Daniel Pelka, who was starved and beaten to death by his mother and her partner.

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Payday Lenders Facing Unlimited Fines

Tougher controls on payday lenders could see unlimited fines for companies which break the rules.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which will take over regulation of consumer credit from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in April 2014, said the sanctions were among a host of proposed new rules that would go out to consultation.

The organisation, which will cover tens of thousands of firms offering services such as overdrafts, credit cards and debt advice, was formed six months ago with the promise of strengthening protection for consumers.

Among its other recommendations are: limiting to two the number of times a payday loan can be rolled-over, banning misleading adverts and compulsory affordability checks for all loan applicants.

Payday loan firms have come under intense scrutiny in recent months after a damning report by the OFT found "deep-rooted" problems.

The Competition Commission is carrying out a full-scale investigation of the industry and will reveal its findings next year.

The OFT, which referred the £2bn industry to the commission, is worried firms are emphasising the speed of the loan over cost and are "skimping" on affordability checks.

There have also been complaints of payday firms unexpectedly draining people's bank accounts through a type of recurring payment called a continuous payment authority.

Payday firms would be limited to doing this twice per customer under the proposals.

The FCA's chief executive Martin Wheatley said: "Today I'm putting payday lenders on notice: tougher regulation is coming and I expect them all to make changes so that consumers get a fair outcome.

"The clock is ticking," he added.

Payday lenders have said they have been working to improve standards and ensure loans are given only to those who can afford them.

Russell Hamblin-Boone, chief executive of the Consumer Finance Association (CFA), which represents many short-term lenders, said: "The CFA and its members have always supported well-designed, well-implemented regulation in order to protect consumers and drive up standards.

"Our tough code of practice and independent monitoring, which is unique in the industry, has paved the way for FCA regulation, so we look forward to seeing the detail of the draft rulebook."

The FCA has asked for feedback from consumers as well as lenders before implementing its rules next year.

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Dave Lee Travis At Court Over Sex Charges

By Tom Parmenter, at Westminster Magistrates' Court

DJ Dave Lee Travis is appearing in court facing further sex charges.

The 68-year-old arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London this morning without saying anything to waiting reporters and photographers.

He was charged with the two supplementary allegations of indecent assault on Tuesday.

They relate to a woman who says she was assaulted between January 1992 and December 1993. She was over the age of 16 at the time.

The two extra charges have been added to 12 others he faces of indecent or sexual assault that span the last three decades.

His trial is scheduled to take place next March.

The DJ has consistently denied any wrongdoing since he was first arrested at his home near Leighton Buzzard in November 2012.

His arrest was part of Operation Yewtree which investigated the Jimmy Savile scandal but the allegations faced by Dave Lee Travis are not linked in any way to his disgraced former BBC colleague.

During a long career in broadcasting the DJ was known as DLT and hosted the BBC Radio One breakfast show between 1978 and 1980.

Recently he had been working for the Magic Network of radio stations but has been taken off-air pending the outcome of court proceedings.

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PTSD Fears Over Plan For More Army Reservists

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

Ministers' plans to replace tens of thousands of full-time soldiers with reservists risks creating a new wave of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, campaigners have warned.

In an interview with Sky News, Andrew Cameron, chief executive of Combat Stress, said members of the Territorial Army (TA) who serve on the front line are at far greater risk of developing the condition than ordinary troops.

Last year, as part of cost-cutting measures, the Government announced plans to double the size of the TA from 15,000 soldiers to 30,000, while reducing the number of regular servicemen by 20,000.

But reservists returning home from conflicts do not have the same level of support afforded to full-time soldiers, Mr Cameron warned.

"The preponderance of post-traumatic stress disorder amongst veterans who are reservists is 50% higher than it is for regular servicemen," he said.

"The reason for that is they don't get the level of support from their regiment, their ship or their squadron that they might have done if they were a regular.

"If we double or treble the number and if we continue with high-intensity warfare then I think society has got a big challenge because we will see a lot more reservists who need help."

Combat Stress said that since 2009, it had seen a large rise in the number of veterans seeking help after returning from Afghanistan.

Combat Stress CEO Andrew Cameron says reservists do not have the support

In 2008/9, the charity was approached by 56 veterans of Afghanistan. This had risen to 271 in the last year, a fivefold increase.

Mr Cameron, whose intervention comes just days after Defence Secretary Philip Hammond was heckled at the Conservative Party conference by veterans over cuts, said he expected veterans to need help for another decade.

He said: "I'm planning for services at or above the level we are providing for at least the next five years and I don't expect to see a tail-off in very much less than 10."

Soldiers' families, friends, colleagues and employers need to be more aware of what they have gone through, he added.

Jake Wood, 40, an investment bank analyst, was a Lance Sergeant in the TA in Afghanistan from April to October 2007.

He told Sky News he suffers from what he calls "Survivor Guilt" and "Killer Guilt", leading to nightmares and sleepless nights, after discovering a member of the Taliban had died in a firefight he had been involved in.

He said: "I didn't feel anything at the time. I couldn't. I was immersed in the normality of Afghanistan.

"But it's when you come home and you're re-immersed in the different normality of home, the cosiness of home life, that you can remember things differently.

"And I just remember playing my part in killing an extremely terrified, dying man."

Mr Wood said he also struggled to recover from a Taliban attack in which his commanding officer was blown up. Returning to work was a very difficult experience.

"On a moral level it didn't fill me with glee going back to that environment," he said.

"As a soldier on the ground, you look after the guy next to you and he looks after you. It's a cliche but it's a cliche for a reason because it's what happens.

"It's a completely unselfish, black and white existence.

"Then when you're suddenly re-immersed in an investment bank after just a few weeks leave, there can be this profound sense of sudden isolation, and also alienation as well, where you're just completely and utterly alone.

"It's basically a hangover from the past, which in my experience does not go away. And now I'm not expecting it to either. This isn't defeatism.

"I've had years of intensive treatment and I've no doubt it has helped me, and the reason I know it has helped me is that I haven't killed myself."

A recent study of thousands of servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan by King's College London found 6% of reservists suffered from PTSD compared with 3% in a control group.

When studied again five years later, they were still found to have greater levels of PTSD and marital instability than regular soldiers.

The Ministry of Defence is set to release new figures detailing the number of servicemen suffering from mental health conditions on Thursday.

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 08457 90 90 90 or email jo@samaritans.org

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Miliband Daily Mail Row: Labour Demands Apology

Labour has demanded an apology from the Daily Mail after the newspaper said using a picture of the grave of Ed Miliband's father was an "error of judgement".

A top executive conceded publishing the photo with the caption "grave socialist" on the Mail's website was a mistake but stressed it had been removed when Mr Miliband complained.

He refused to apologise for the article itself and insisted its headline "The Man Who Hated Britain" was justified when read in the context of the rest of the report.

Ralph Miliband in his Royal Navy uniform

More than 50 people have now complained to the Press Complaints Commission about the coverage.

Ralph Miliband, a Jewish refugee who fled to Britain to escape the Nazis and served in the Royal Navy in World War II, was a top Marxist academic.

The original article, published on Saturday, questioned his influence on the Labour leader and prompted Mr Miliband to accuse the paper of a "character assassination".

He insisted on writing a rebuttal, which the paper published but alongside an abridged version of the earlier piece and a new editorial refusing to apologise.

The Mail failed to respond to repeated requests from Sky News to react to the furore on Tuesday but the newspaper's deputy editor Jon Steafel appeared later on BBC's Newsnight.

Mr Steafel battled to justify the newspaper's coverage as former Downing Street spin doctor Alastair Campbell declared it indefensible.

Ed Miliband reacting to the coverage on Tuesday

Mr Campbell said the Mail was "the worst of British values posing as the best" and described its editor Paul Dacre as a "poison in our national life".

Mr Steafel, considered a potential successor to Mr Dacre, made clear the paper stood by its article and subsequent coverage.

He argued that the writings of Ralph Miliband, who died in 1994, showed he was "very antipathetic" to the views and values of many British people.

"His views on British institutions from our schools to our royal family to our military to our universities to the church to our great newspapers ... what he said was that he felt that all of those things were bad aspects, were unfortunate aspects of British life," he said.

"If you take those things together and you combine them with an espousing of a Marxist ideology, that in our view represented someone who hated British values."

Alastair Campbell called Mail editor Paul Dacre 'poison'

He added: "He was a supporter of the Marxist ideology which was being used to run governments in other parts of the continent and other parts of Europe which was responsible for an awful lot of terrible things, including millions and millions of deaths."

Mr Miliband has said he does not share his father's Marxist ideology but Mr Steafel argued it was reasonable to highlight Ralph Miliband's views because of his influence on his son.

"Ed Miliband seeks to be prime minister of this country. He has made many speeches over the three years since he became Labour leader and in many of those speeches he refers to the story of his parents," he said.

"If you are to understand Ed Miliband, who has told us he wants to bring back socialism to modern Britain, then you need to understand the values that shaped him."

On Wednesday, the Mail showed no sign of backtracking - devoting another four pages to the row and including a shorter version of the editorial it published on Tuesday.

Labour appeared to focus on Mr Steafel's comments about the picture, calling for an apology for the "crude pun" used on the Mail Online.

However, a Labour spokesman also added: "We continue to believe that the article headlined 'The Man Who Hated Britain' and a subsequent article which described Ralph Miliband's legacy as 'evil' were smears.

"The deputy editor of the Daily Mail showed he could not justify either of them."

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Greenpeace Brit Charged With Piracy By Russia

A Briton has been charged with piracy by Russian investigators after taking part in a protest against Arctic oil drilling.

A total of 30 Greenpeace campaigners were detained last week as their ship circled near the Prazlomnaya oil platform in the Pechora Sea, after some activists attempted to get on to the platform.

And Mikhail Kreindlin, a representative of Greenpeace, said: "The first two activists have been charged with piracy. These activists are from Brazil and Britain."

They are freelance videographer Kieron Bryan from the UK and Ana Paula Alminhana from Brazil. If found guilty of piracy, they could be sent to prison for up to 15 years.

Kieron Bryan is a freelance videographer. pic: @kieronjbryan

Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo condemned the charge, saying: "It is an extreme and disproportionate charge.

"A charge of piracy is being laid against men and women whose only crime is to be possessed of a conscience. This is an outrage and represents nothing less than an assault on the very principle of peaceful protest."

The group of activists had already been ordered to spend two months in custody in the northern city of Murmansk, pending an investigation.

The other Britons being held are cameraman Philip Ball, communications officer Alexandra Harris, logistics co-ordinator Frank Hewetson, activist Anthony Perrett and engineer Iain Rogers.

The activists said the Russian officials pointed guns at them

The platform, the first offshore rig in the Arctic, is owned by Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom.

Oil giants ExxonMobil, Eni and Statoil, along with other Norwegian firms, plan to drill for oil in Russia's Arctic waters in the coming months.

Greenpeace has warned an oil spill would cause significant environmental damage and warns of fossil fuel extraction contributing to climate change.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had said he did not think the protesters were pirates but defended their detention, saying that coast guards had no way of knowing who they were.

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Count Me In For TV Debates, Says Cameron

David Cameron has told Sky News he is ready to take part in TV debates ahead of the next general election but wants them to happen earlier.

The Prime Minister also indicated he would not be happy for UKIP leader Nigel Farage to be involved in the clashes, despite the eurosceptic party's surge in popularity.

Mr Cameron said there would be "negotiation" about how the debates would be organised but when asked if he would commit to being involved, he said: "You certainly can."

His declaration comes after both Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband said they were ready to participate, piling pressure on the Prime Minister to also sign up.

Not on the list? UKIP leader Nigel Farage

Mr Cameron said: "I hope they go ahead ... I think TV debates are a great thing and I look forward to taking part.

"My only contribution to this debate is that now we have a five-year fixed parliament, we can start the debates before the election campaign.

"I felt last time, excellent though they were, they took all the life out of the rest of the campaign.

"All those special parts of an election campaign - the regional tours, getting out and meeting people in the country, those big set-piece interviews, they rather lost some of their lustre."

The Prime Minister dismissed the idea of Mr Farage being included in the showdowns, which were broadcast by Sky News, the BBC and ITV in 2010.

"These debates should be about people who have a prospect of being prime minister - that is what people really want to see: what would the Government do," he said.

There is still no official confirmation that the clashes will be repeated but with all three main party leaders' pledging to take part, it appears likely.

In the last general election campaign, Mr Clegg enjoyed a surge in support after debating with Mr Cameron and Gordon Brown although his popularity did not translate at the ballot box.

Mr Miliband would be taking part for the first time after winning the Labour leadership contest later in 2010. 

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GP Plan To Bring In Out-Of-Hours Surgeries

David Cameron has told Sky News he wants doctors' surgeries to be open for longer to ease the pressure on overstretched A&E departments.

The Prime Minister confirmed plans for a £50m trial to have surgeries open from 8am until 8pm, seven days a week.

He insisted the pilot scheme in areas across England, which is expected to cover up to half a million patients, would be properly funded.

Almost one in five patients in a recent NHS survey said inconvenient appointments were a concern, with more than 70% backing weekend and after office opening hours.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will outline the plans at the Tory conference

The scheme, which was unveiled at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, will offer extra cash to groups of GPs proposing the most effective ways to improve patient access.

As well as extended surgery hours, ministers hope they will pioneer more effective use of technology, such as consultations with patients via video calls, email and by telephone.

Electronic prescriptions, online appointment booking and allowing people to visit a number of different surgeries across an area are among other measures which could be introduced.

Mr Cameron told Sky: "Sometimes people using Accident & Emergency really just need to see a GP but for hard-working people it is often too difficult because you are at work, you can't get an appointment at the time that fits.

"Let's see if we can have GPs' surgeries open 12 hours a day, seven days a week so you can always get that appointment you need.

"We are starting with pilot schemes in nine regions of England. We are spending the money to help GPs achieve this. We will be able to see how it works."

He added: "I believe that will work well and then our ambition is to roll that out across the country. That is good for hard-working people but I also think it is right for our health service.

"If you look at A&E, since 2004 when the GP contract changed we see four million more people a year going to Accident & Emergency so I think we are not getting the balance right at the moment."

The first pilot projects are due to be operating by April 2014.

Similar initiatives are already being trialled in some parts of the country, including parts of Manchester, where some surgeries will move to seven-day opening.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who will talk about the initiative in his speech to the conference, said: "We live in a 24/7 society and we need GPs to find new ways of working so they can offer appointments at times that suit hard-working people.

"Cutting-edge GP practices here in Manchester are leading the way, and we want many more patients across the country to benefit."

Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector for General Practice, said: "This move towards seven day services is great news for patients and should be embraced by GPs.

"I want to see brilliant access to GP services for patients across the country and will be assessing this in each practice I inspect."

However, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham accused Mr Cameron and his Conservative Party of "taking the NHS backwards".

"This announcement is a major admission of failure and a U-turn of fairly epic proportions," he said.

"Patients are also finding it harder to get appointments, and turning to A&E instead, after he removed Labour's guarantee of an appointment within 48 hours."

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Teachers Stage One-Day Strike Over Pay Reform

Thousands of teachers are staging a one-day strike in a bitter dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions.

Tens of thousands of schoolchildren will be affected by the one-day walkout across four English region as schools are fully or partially closed.

The action has been organised by two of England's biggest teaching unions - the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the NASUWT.

Schools in 49 local authorities in the East of England, the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside are affected.

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: "Strike action is a last resort. Teachers have been left with no choice but to demonstrate their anger and frustration in the face of their genuine concerns being dismissed and trivialised."

The first regional walkout took place in the North West on June 27, with further strikes expected to take place on October 17 in the North East, South East, South West and London.

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said strike action was a last resort

Plans for a national one-day walkout before Christmas have also been announced by the two unions.

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: "No teacher takes strike action lightly but the intransigence of this Education Secretary has left teachers with no choice.

"We cannot stand by and watch our profession be systematically attacked and undermined. There needs to be a change in the Government's attitude to teachers and education."

The strike comes as Education Secretary Michael Gove is due to address the Tory party conference amid criticism of his reforms by leading academics and children's authors.

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman are among nearly 200 people to say they are "gravely concerned" and call for the changes to be stopped.

In a letter published in The Times, they called on the Government to set up a commission to examine alternatives instead of pressing on with reforms to the curriculum and exam system.

"Competition between children through incessant testing and labelling results is a public sense of failure for the vast majority," they said.

"The drive towards ever-higher attainment in national tests leads inevitably to teaching to the test, which narrows the range of learning experiences. Harmful stress is put on young people, their parents and their teachers.

"These damaging developments must stop. If they go ahead there will be devastating consequences for children's mental health, for future opportunities and, most importantly, for the quality of childhood itself."

They describe demands on teachers as being like a "straitjacket" that will "destroy the educational richness that should be children's birthright".

The unions say they are protesting against a two-year pay freeze for teachers, proposals to make teachers work until they are aged 68, increases in pensions contributions and heavy workloads due to inspections and bureaucracy.

A Department of Education spokesman said: "It is disappointing that the NUT and NASUWT are striking over the Government's measures to allow heads to pay good teachers more."

The spokeswoman said a recent poll found that 61% of those questioned backed linking teachers' pay to performance and a majority were opposed to walkouts.

"All strikes will do is disrupt parents' lives, hold back children's education and damage the reputation of the profession," she added.

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Thames Duck Boat Fire: 30 Pulled From River

Around 30 people have been rescued from the River Thames after their tour boat caught on fire.

The passengers were forced to jump overboard when flames took hold on the London Duck Tours amphibious vessel on a stretch of water close to Lambeth Bridge.

Some 28 tourists and two crew members were hauled to safety by passing tour barges after the fire broke out shortly before midday on Sunday.

A woman and a child were taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation.

The blaze on the amphibious vessel is being investigated

Further tourists were treated for smoke inhalation at the riverside, opposite the Houses of Parliament.

All passengers were accounted for, but London Fire Brigade group manager Neil Withers said they were in shock.

"Fortunately at this stage it doesn't look like anyone's been seriously injured," he said.

"People are clearly cold, wet and in shock but they were pulled from the water really quickly and that's testament to the work of our firefighters, other emergency rescue teams and others who rushed to the scene to help.

"The casualties, who are tourists, are being looked after by the London Ambulance Service and firefighters, who are keeping them warm and making them cups of tea."

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

The cause of the fire is not yet known

"The damaged boat was pulled away from the scene by our fire boat and a full investigation into exactly what happened will now be taking place," Mr Withers said.

The Port of London Authority is also expected to investigate the blaze.

The tour company has suspended its river tours until they know the cause of the fire.

"London Duck Tours operates to the highest safety standards, and at this early stage it is not possible to speculate on the reason for the incident," the firm said on its website.

"Until the cause is established, the company will not be operating on the river and should technical or safety modifications be required to our fleet, these will be introduced prior to the service recommencing."

The company will continue to operate a "land-only service".

It is the third time this year that a Duck Tours vessel has run into difficulty.

In June, 22 people were taken to hospital after the Yellow Duckmarine amphibious tour bus sunk in Liverpool.

Another Yellow Duckmarine tour bus reportedly sank in the city dock in March. Nobody was injured in that incident.

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Antoin Akpom Murder: Second Man Arrested

Police have arrested another man in connection with the murder of a youth football coach who was stabbed to death in the street.

The 19-year-old was arrested on Sunday evening in Cardiff in relation to Antoin Akpom's death in Leicester on September 12.

He is the second person to be held by police investigating the murder.

Abdul Hakim, also 19, of Wood Hill, was remanded in custody after appearing in court on September 18 charged with 20-year-old Mr Akpom's murder.

Mr Akpom, who coached a youth football team at Leicester Nirvana FC, was found injured in Kent Street and later died from his wounds.

A Leicestershire Police spokesman said: "Detectives investigating the murder of Leicester man Antoin Akpom have arrested a man in connection with the incident.

"The 19-year-old man was arrested in Cardiff on Sunday evening and currently remains in police custody.

"On September 17, detectives charged a 19-year-old man with the murder of Antoin. He has since been remanded into custody and is due to appear at Leicester Crown Court at a later date."

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Children With Depression 'Need More Support'

More needs to be done to improve care and support for tens of thousands of children who suffer from depression, health experts have said.

Severe depression affects nearly 80,000 children and young people in the UK, including more than 8,000 under the age of 10, figures suggest.

But there are "huge variations" in the level of care delivered to young patients with depression, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which has set out new quality standards.

Nice said there must be clear steps in place so health workers can deliver the best possible care, and if a medic suspects a youngster is depressed, they must endeavour to make a diagnosis and record it in the child's medical records.

Depressed children can feel tearful, sad and hopeless

Experts also need to ensure there is "age appropriate" material so children can understand their diagnosis and treatment, it added.

Consultant child and adolescent psychotherapist Ricky Emanuel, who was a member of the specialist committee that developed the Nice standards, said: "I hope this quality standard can be used as a template to improve the care received by children and young people with depression in England.

"There are huge variations in the type and quality of care available, which can have long-term consequences on the child or young person and family themselves, as well as for society as a whole.

"The new standards set out the very best care and support for children and young people with depression."

NHS guidance states there are a wide range of symptoms seen in people suffering depression, ranging from lasting feelings of sadness and hopelessness, to losing interest in the things people used to enjoy and feeling very tearful.

Many people with depression also have symptoms of anxiety. There can be physical symptoms too, such as feeling constantly tired, sleeping badly, having no appetite, and complaining of aches and pains.

Mother Charlotte Libman told Sky News that when her daughter Portia Dobbs became depressed, it took a year to get her treated.

"It's really disturbing, she said. "What seems to be happening is the delay from going to a GP to seeing a child psychologist and a psychiatrist who, if you are so depressed, can give you medication.

"In Portia's case she had Prozac and had a full recovery. Parents get very worried if their child takes medication but in my daughter's case there were no side effects and she's been able to lead a normal life. But it takes a long time to see a psychiatrist to get the medication."

When Portia was depressed she found it difficult to become motivated. She said: "You end up going to your room every day and crying and not wanting to do much.

"I didn't want to do anything and had no fun in anything; it wasn't a great way to live. I didn't think anything was wrong and it took a while from going to see a GP to seeing a doctor and finally ending-up with a counsellor.

"Once I'd got see a therapist it was really good but it did take a year to get things moving."

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said: "Young people's mental health is a priority for this Government and we have committed £54m over four years into talking therapies specifically for children and young people through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme.

"Given the funding that local NHS trusts receive each year, we would expect that they would have these services at the forefront of their plans.

"We have made it very clear that the NHS needs to improve mental health care and to give it the same priority as physical health care."

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Police Chief: 'Make Class A Drugs Legal'

Durham's chief constable has called for class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine to be legalised.

Mike Barton has claimed the war on drugs has failed and decriminalisation is the best way to strip power away from criminal gangs.

Writing in The Observer, the national intelligence leader for the Association of Chief Police Officers also suggested the NHS should supply class A drugs to addicts.

"Not all crime gangs raise income through selling drugs, but most of them do in my experience," Mr Barton said.

"So offering an alternative route of supply to users cuts off the gang's income stream.

"If an addict were able to access drugs via the NHS or some similar organisation, then they would not have to go out and buy illegal drugs.

"Drugs should be controlled. They should not, of course, be freely available.

"I think addiction to anything - drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc - is not a good thing, but outright prohibition hands revenue streams to villains."

Under Mr Barton's direction, Durham Constabulary launched Operation Sledgehammer, a sustained campaign  to "get in the faces" of organised crime gangs.

Mr Barton has highlighted the way Capone (pictured) was brought down

He has previously claimed to seek inspiration in the way notorious Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone was finally brought down not for bootlegging, but tax evasion.

Mr Barton, who has served for nearly 34 years, said he had witnessed a worsening drug addiction problem since prohibition began in 1971 with the Misuse of Drugs Act.

He argued that pushers had made billions from adulterated drugs, transforming them into local folk heroes for young people.

"Decriminalising their commodity will immediately cut off their income stream and destroy their power," he said.

"Making drugs legal would tackle the supply chain much more effectively and much more economically than we can currently manage."

Mr Barton said that offering drugs therapeutically through the NHS and similar organisations would avoid the spread of HIV and hepatitis C among needle users.

But he underlined that he was in favour of their use in a controlled environment, rather than a "free for all".

"I am saying that people who encourage others to take drugs by selling them are criminals, and their actions should be tackled," he said.

"But addicts, on the other hand, need to be treated, cared for and encouraged to break the cycle of addiction. They do not need to be criminalised."

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Cautions To Be Scrapped For Serious Crimes

Cautions for violent, sexual and drug offences will be scrapped, under reforms set to be announced by the Conservatives.

The party say the move will stop thousands of offenders who commit some of the most serious crimes escaping "with just a slap on the wrist".

New guidance will be issued immediately to ban the use of cautions for crimes including rape, manslaughter and robbery unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Almost 500 cautions were issued last for the most serious offences - those that would automatically be heard in the Crown Court if they went to trial.

A total of 5,084 cautions were issued for serious crimes, including 962 for possession of knives, 1,543 for other weapons and 54 for supplying or offering to supply class A drugs.

They were also used to deal with a raft of offences related to children, including seven for child prostitution and pornography, 183 for taking, distributing or publishing indecent photographs of children, 268 for possession of indecent photographs of a child, and 1,560 for cruelty or neglect of children.

It comes as a review is launched into the use of all out-of-court disposals, such as penalty notices, that Tories hope will show "if you break the law, you will not escape the law".

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Cameron Launches State-Backed Mortgages Plan

David Cameron says 95% government-backed mortgages to help people get on to the property ladder will start within days.

The scheme was due to start in January but hours before the Conservative Party Conference opened, the Prime Minister revealed that Nat West, RBS and Halifax had all agreed to provide the new deals. 

It is widely being seen as a response to Ed Miliband's Labour conference crowd-pleasing announcement that the party would freeze energy prices for two years as conference season has shaped up as a "battle over the consumer".

Mr Cameron says the 'earlier the better' for the scheme's launch

Speaking on Sunday morning, Mr Cameron said that it was ridiculous that people could afford mortgage repayments, but not the deposit to get the loan in the first place. 

The Prime Minister said that only those with well-off parents could manage to get on the housing ladder, telling BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "I'm not going to stand by while people's aspirations are trashed."

The mortgage guarantees will allow buyers to acquire a newly built home or an existing property worth up to £600,000 with a deposit of only 5%.

The second stage of the Help To Buy scheme aims to boost mortgage availability by reducing the risk for lenders because the Government takes on the risk of default when it guarantees a proportion of a loan.

In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the conference Mr Cameron also said:

:: He was sorry he didn't win the 2010 election and made it clear he was looking for a straight Conservative victory in 2014

:: The high-speed rail HS2 project would stay on its £42.6bn budget

:: That Britain could pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights, which has prevented the UK deporting foreign criminals 

:: He would never back a mansion tax, marking a clear coaltion red line.

Mr Balls says the Government focus should be on affordable homes

Mr Cameron also spoke about Mr Miliband's energy bill freeze proposals saying: "I want to lower prices not just for 20 months but for 20 years."

He said that he wanted to look at "all those markets" and make sure they were "working for hard-working people".

Sky News Political Correspondent Anushka Asthana said bringing forward the mortgage plan and the announcement, on Saturday, of tax breaks for married couples was an attempt to give Conservatives something to "take to the doorsteps".

She said: "This is also about Mr Cameron looking outwards and thinking about the public and trying to come back on some of the ideas that Labour and the Liberal Democrats have put forward over the past few weeks.

"People are calling this the battle over the consumer. At the Lib Dems we have free school meals and then Ed Miliband promises to freeze energy prices. The Tories have tried to rubbish that idea but at the same time they are clearly worried."

The Chancellor, George Osborne, tweeted the news that RBS, Nat West and Halifax had all signed up to the mortgage scheme using the Conservative buzz words hashtag #forhardworkingpeople.

A YouGov poll for The Sunday Times put Labour on an 11 point lead on 42%, with the Conservatives at 31%, UKIP on 13% and the Liberal Democrats trailing on 9%.

The 95% mortgage scheme has previously attracted widespread concern, with some claiming it may lead to more problems than it solves.

Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable warned the scheme "could inflate the market" and said he feared there was a "danger of getting into another housing bubble".

Former Bank of England governor Lord King said the scheme is "too close for comfort" to a general scheme to guarantee mortgages.

Speaking on Sunday, Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "If David Cameron is serious about helping first-time buyers he should be bringing forward investment to build more affordable homes. Rising demand for housing must be matched with rising supply, but under this government housebuilding is at its lowest level since the 1920s."

The first stage of Help To Buy was launched in April and offers loans to give people the chance to buy a new-build home with a deposit of just 5%. The scheme has been credited with spurring a surge in home sales and driving up prices.

:: Watch Conservative Party conference coverage on Sky News from 2pm

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