Veiled Acid Attacker Sentenced To 12 Years

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky News Reporter

A woman who threw acid in the face of her friend, leaving her scarred for life, has been sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Mary Konye, 22, cried as the sentence was handed down at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Her victim Naomi Oni has had skin grafts to cover the severe burns and has been left with scars on her face, legs, chest, stomach and arms.

The 22-year-old Victoria's Secret shop assistant was almost blinded in one eye, lost an eyelid, her eyelashes and hair following the attack on December 30, 2012, in Dagenham, East London.

Mary Konye dressed in a veil to carry out an attack on her friend.

In a statement read out in court, Naomi Oni said she felt "violated" by the attack, which left her feeling like killing herself.

Before the attack, she told the court, she was a "confident" young woman with a job she enjoyed.

"All this changed that day I was struck with acid and my life was turned upside down," she said.

She described every day now as "a battle to get by".

"I'm going to have these scars as a reminder forever ... my injuries are due to the carefully planned acts of an evil, wicked person," Ms Oni added.

Konye disguised herself in a Muslim veil and followed Naomi Oni home from work before attacking her.

No clear motive has ever been discovered but it is believed the pair fell out in April 2011 after Ms Oni allegedly accused Konye of texting her boyfriend and called her an "ugly monster".

On sentencing Konye, Judge David Radford said Konye had shown no remorse for the "deliberate and wicked act".

Naomi Oni had to receive months of treatment for her injuries.

Judge Radford said: "This careful, premeditated criminality was planned against a person who reasonably believed you were a true friend.

"Her friendship had been so wilfully betrayed by you," he said, adding the attack had "ruined" Ms Oni's life.

Following the assault Konye pretended to offer her former friend support, texting her in hospital.

Although it is thought Konye could have planned the attack for two years, she later suggested Ms Oni had devised the whole thing to get "fame and fortune".

The attack is believed to have been a copycat version of the one suffered by model and TV presenter Katie Piper, who was badly scarred and left blind in one eye in an assault arranged by her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lynch, in 2008.

Previously, Ms Oni had told the court that Konye knew the impact the attack had on her after they watched a TV documentary about it.

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Tape Measure 'Better For Weighing Up Obesity'

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

The current method of judging obesity is so complex it should be replaced by a simple tape measure, according to a leading specialist.

Dr Jude Oben, from the Obesity Action Campaign, said the body mass index, or BMI, is "tedious" to calculate and poorly understood by patients.

He told Sky News that straightforward measurement of waist size was a more accurate assessment of someone's fat - and far more user friendly.

"The fat inside your abdomen is a good indicator of your metabolic risk," he said.

"For example your risk of heart disease, liver disease, diabetes, post-menopausal breast cancer, colorectal cancer. 

"So why not measure it simply? A tape measure does that."

He said studies show men should keep their waist - measured at the level of the belly-button - below 90 cm (35.5 inches). Women should keep it below 80cm (31.5 inches).

At least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight

BMI is a complex calculation in which a patient's weight in kilogrammes is divided by the square of their height in metres.

If the result is greater than 25, patients are judged to be overweight.

"By that point most of them have switched off or left the room," said Dr Oben.

BMI takes no account of muscle mass. Athletes can register as being overweight even though they have minimal body fat.

Catherine Dias has had a weight problem for many years. But she still hasn't got to grips with BMI - and much prefers measuring her waist size.

"It's simple, it's easy. You know what you have to get down to," she said.

"To do it the other way it's a lot of calculations. I couldn't do that."

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Jean McConville Case: Ex-IRA Chief Charged

A former Irish Republican Army commander has been charged in connection with the murder of a mother of 10 more than 40 years ago.

Ivor Bell, 77, is due to appear in court in Belfast today accused of aiding and abetting in the murder of Jean McConville and membership of the IRA.

He was detained at his home in the Andersonstown district of west Belfast on Tuesday.

Mrs McConville was abducted by an IRA gang of up to 12 men and women at her home at Divis Flats, Belfast, in December 1972 after being accused of spying for the British.

The 37-year-old was taken at gunpoint and shot in the back of the head.

Her murder was one of the most notorious incidents during the Troubles.

For years she was one of the so-called Disappeared, those abducted and killed by republican paramilitaries during this period and buried in unmarked graves.

Jean McConville's funeral in 2003

Mrs McConville's children were told their mother had abandoned them.

It was not until August 2003 that her remains were found over the border in the Republic of Ireland, on Shelling Hill beach in County Louth - 50 miles from her home.

The IRA had admitted responsibility for her killing in 1999, although no one has ever been charged with her murder.

An investigation by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman rejected allegations Mrs McConville had passed information to the British.

Some of Mrs McConville's children have accused Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams of directly ordering their mother's killing, claims he denies, along with allegations he was involved in the IRA.

Mr Bell and Mr Adams were part of an IRA negotiating team which headed to London for ceasefire talks in 1972.

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Single Punch Killer's Sentence To Be Reviewed

A man who killed a stranger with a single punch has had his sentence referred to the Court of Appeal for being "unduly lenient".

Lewis Gill, 20, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail for manslaughter after knocking Andrew Young to the ground in Bournemouth last November.

The sentence was widely criticised and Attorney General Dominic Grieve has now sent the case to the Court of Appeal.

CCTV images of the assault show Mr Young challenging a cyclist who was riding on the pavement.

Gill, an acquaintance of the cyclist, arrives at the scene and watches the discussion before lunging at the 40-year-old.

Gill then walks away, glancing back momentarily at his victim lying on the street.

The attack occurred outside Tesco Metro in Charminster Road, Bournemouth.

Lewis Gill pleaded guilty to manslaughter

Mr Young sustained a serious head injury and died the next day at a hospital in Southampton.

Gill, of Sutton in Surrey, will have his case reviewed at the Court of Appeal in five to seven weeks.

The victim's family described his sentence as an "absolute joke".

Speaking after the sentence was passed in February, Mr Young's mother, Pamela, said her son had Asperger's syndrome, which affected his social skills.

"He was very precise and particular because of his Asperger's, and he wouldn't have liked seeing someone riding a bicycle on the pavement because it was dangerous," she told the Dorset Daily Echo.

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Dramatic Tales Of Bravery In Military Honours

By Ursula Hansford, Sky News

A British soldier has been awarded the second highest military award - the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross - for bravery in Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Simon Moloney of The Blues and Royals was seriously injured by a gunshot wound but continued to provide protection for his comrades for 90 minutes in temperatures in excess of 40 degrees.

The 23-year-old from St Albans told Sky News: "I thought it was game over - a gunshot wound to the neck, I thought the artery would have been cut … so you've got about three minutes to live which is why I carried on."

The bullet missed Lance Corporal Moloney's vital arteries

Lance Corporal Moloney was part of a troop who landed by helicopter deep in an insurgent stronghold as part an operation to gather intelligence and disrupt the enemy.

It was when he was providing watch from a roof that he came under attack from an enemy sharpshooter.

A bullet ripped through his neck missing his vital arteries and voice box by millimetres and hurling him from the rooftop.

Lance Corporal Moloney was extracted against his will

Shouting through his throat injury and over the crackle of enemy sniper rounds he passed vital target information to win the firefight before being extracted by helicopter against his will.

Describing how he feels about being given the award Lance Corporal Moloney told Sky News: "It's not really sunk in yet but over the moon."

A total of 117 members of the armed forces are recognised in the latest round of military honours.

Lance Corporal Sinead Dodds of the Royal Army Medical Corps

Among them is 21-year-old Lance Corporal Sinead Dodds of the Royal Army Medical Corps, who has been awarded the Queen's Commendation for Bravery.

She helped free her commander who was trapped when the armoured vehicle they were travelling in was hit by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

Despite having lost her hearing and being in pain she moved him - a man at least twice her weight - into a position where she could begin providing life-saving first aid in the darkness.

Lance Corporal Dodds told Sky News: "It was hard but I think the adrenalin kicked in and I didn't feel any pain at that point."

RAF Flight Lieutenant Charlie Lockyear and Master Aircrew Bob Sunderland

Another act of bravery came from the RAF's Flight Lieutenant Charlie Lockyear from Teignmouth, Devon, and Master Aircrew Bob Sunderland from Englefield Green, Surrey, who landed their Chinook helicopter under fire from Afghan insurgents.

Flt Lt Lockyear, the Captain, was given the Distinguished Flying Cross while MACR Sunderland was awarded a Mention in Dispatches.

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Road-Death Sentences 'Are Not Tough Enough'

By Lisa Dowd, Sky News Correspondent

Some 82% of motorists think sentences should be higher for drivers who kill people on the roads, according to a survey by road safety charity Brake.

Latest government figures show only 62% of those convicted of killing someone through risky driving were jailed, and only 9% received sentences of five years or more in prison.

Bereaved relatives are backing a campaign calling on the Government to ensure motorists are not "let off" on lesser charges, which carry lower penalties.

Mandy Stock was walking home with her husband Paul when he was knocked down and killed by a motorcyclist in Gloucester two years ago.

Paul Stock was killed while walking home with his wife

Graham Godwin had been speeding, had a passenger illegally riding pillion and was disqualified from driving. His criminal record included 45 previous traffic offences.

A judge described him as "an absolute menace".

"He was actually charged with causing death while disqualified not dangerous or careless driving," said Mandy, 51.

"The maximum sentence for causing death while disqualified is two years, which he got, but he got six months knocked off for pleading guilty, and only spent nine months in prison, as he was allowed out half way through the term. I'm angry, very angry."

Campaigners say if someone has been killed or seriously injured on our roads, and risks were taken by those responsible, those actions should never be called "careless" in the eyes of the law, but always "dangerous", meaning judges could give maximum sentences of 14 years.

Brake deputy chief executive Julie Townsend said: "We want the Government to acknowledge how inadequate current charges and penalties are and take action to prevent traumatised families suffering further insult.

"Denying justice to victim families often has a terrible impact on their ability to rebuild and move forward with their lives.

Bereaved relatives want tougher sentences

"Brake bears witness to the consequences for these vulnerable families every day through its support services for bereaved and injured crash victims.

"Our justice system should make clear that risky, illegal behaviour on roads is no accident: it's selfish, destructive, and unacceptable."

The Ministry of Justice is currently considering whether to make changes to charges and penalties for serious driving offences.

Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said: "Road traffic offences can have very serious and sometimes devastating consequences for victims and their families.

"That is why we are looking closely at the law and giving careful consideration to all the representations received on this complex and emotive subject - and why we have asked the Sentencing Council to review their sentencing guidelines on death by driving offences.

"Judges already have some tough sentencing options available to them for driving offences - causing death by dangerous driving already carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison, as does causing death by careless driving when drunk or drugged.

"We also introduced a new offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in 2012. But the sentencing in individual cases is always a matter for the judge."

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Madeleine Police Appeal Over Abuse Suspect

Police searching for Madeleine McCann have launched a search for a man who abused children in holiday homes in Portugal.

Officers from Operation Grange have identified a series of 12 crimes between 2004 and 2010 where a male intruder entered villas occupied by UK families on holiday in the Western Algarve.

In four of these incidents - between 2004 and 2006 - the man sexually assaulted five white girls, aged between seven and 10, while in their beds.

Madeleine disappeared in 2007

The cases are not identical but there are enough similarities for police to believe finding this suspect could be key.

In most cases it was low season, there were no signs of forced entry, nothing was taken and the intruder appeared between 2am and 5am.

A three-year-old Madeleine vanished in May 2007 from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends

Of the 12 offences at the centre of the new lead, four were in Carvoeiro, six in the Vale da Parra and two in Praia da Luz.

On one occasion, the man assaulted two girls in the same villa.

A distinctive burgundy long-sleeve top worn by the suspect

DCI Andy Redwood, the senior investigating officer, said the suspect had an "unhealthy interest in young white female children".

"We need to establish the identity of this man," he added.

"These offences are very serious and no one has been charged in connection with them. We also need to eliminate this man from our enquiries and ascertain whether these offences are linked to Madeleine's disappearance.

"If you have been a victim of a similar crime please come forward, even if you reported the incident to police in Portugal, or anywhere else. Please do not assume we have been made aware of it.

"While some of these offences have been in the public domain before, following our appeal in October three more were reported to us as a direct result of that appeal. One of those reports we believe is the first in the potential series."

Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley in Leicestershire

Police believe the suspect may have been in the villas for some time before being disturbed by parents or a child waking up - and he remained calm even when interrupted.

The noise of a bin collection lorry was heard nearby on two occasions.

The suspect is described as having tanned skin with short, dark, unkempt hair.

Witnesses say he spoke English with a foreign accent and his voice has been described as slow, or possibly slurred.

On two occasions, in Vale de Parra and Praia da Gale, he was wearing a distinctive burgundy long-sleeve top with a white circle on the back.

Sometimes he was bare chested, displaying what several witnesses describe as a pot belly.

Three victims talked of a noticeable odour.

Portuguese police closed their inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance in 2008 but Scotland Yard opened a new review of the evidence in 2011.

Praia da Luz, where Madeleine was taken

Police are still hunting a man seen carrying a girl fitting Madeleine's description on the night of her disappearance.

DCI Redwood added: "Our appeal last year was very successful and we had over 5,000 calls which generated new information for us and which we continue to investigate.

"We still need to establish the identity of a man seen by three witnesses, carrying a child fitting Madeleine's description towards the beach or town areas at about 10pm on the night Madeleine disappeared.

"The witnesses have described the man in the e-fits as being white, aged in his 30s, with short brown hair, of medium build, medium height and clean shaven.

"The Metropolitan Police Service continues to offer a reward of up to £20,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person(s) responsible for the abduction of Madeleine McCann from Praia da Luz, Portugal on 3 May 2007."

Anyone with information should call 0800 0961011 - or +44 207 1580 126 for non-UK residents.

Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Shapps Ridiculed For 'Patronising' Bingo Tweet

The Tory chairman has been criticised for tweeting a Budget poster hailing beer and bingo cuts a reward for "hard-working people".

Grant Shapps' tweet

In what will be considered a gift to those who claim the Tories are "out of touch", Grant Shapps tweeted: "Budget 2014 cuts bingo & beer tax helping hardworking people do more of the things they enjoy. RT to spread the word."

The tweet also had attached an official Conservative poster carrying the same message in relation to George' Osborne's budget announcement that bingo hall duty would be cut to 10% and there would be 2p off a pint of beer.

The tweet sparked ridicule online

The Welwyn Hatfield MP's tweet sparked a storm of ridicule on Twitter, with many accusing Mr Shapps of "patronising" the working class. A host of take-offs mocking his tweet have also appeared online.

The hashtag #torybingo was trending at one stage, with suggestions for number calling including "Eton's Den number 10" and "Bullingdon mates 88".

Danny Alexander, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary of the Treasury, said Mr Shapps had effectively undermined the whole Budget.

"I thought it was a spoof at first, it's just pretty extraordinary. It may be our Budget but it's their words, I think it's rather patronising," he told BBC's Newsnight.

"Also I think it actually demeans some quite sensible things. There are good reasons to be supporting bingo, there are good reasons to be encouraging our pub sector to be stronger - that's the analysis behind those measures."

However, a senior Conservative source said: "We are quite proud of those tax cuts ... We stand by what was said in that advert."

The Chancellor said on Thursday morning: "I think it's patronising to say that it doesn't matter what the price of beer is or it doesn't matter that we don't help our Bingo halls. Because three quarters of the Bingo halls in this country have closed in recent decades.

"These are important Budget measures, they are not the only Budget measures.

"This whole story... was whipped up by a Labour Party that didn't have anything else to say about the economy."

He told BBC Breakfast: "We are communicating what's in the Budget. The more people hear about the Budget the more confident people can be that they are on the right track."

The shadow chancellor Ed Balls said that Mr Osborne must be "frustrated that his head of campaigns puts out an advert patronising working people by saying they'll be happy with a Bingo tax and beer tax. What nonsense that is."

The shadow health secretary Andy Burnham tweeted: "That  reminds me of Mr Cholmondley-Warner when he asked Grayson to investigate the "working class".

Labour MP Tony Perkins condemned the poster as "patronising". In short, it was criticism all round.

Presumably Mr Shapps did not run the poster under the nose of the Conservatives chief strategist Lynton Crosby.

Mr Shapps has only tweeted once since, with a follow-up poster ridiculing Ed Miliband's response. It had fewer retweets but was less controversial.

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Driver Sought In Melanie Hall Murder Probe

Missing Melanie Case: Timeline Of Events

Updated: 8:48am UK, Thursday 03 October 2013

Bones found in a bag near a motorway slip road are those of missing hospital clerk Melanie Hall, according to Sky sources.

Here is a timeline of events since the 25-year-old disappeared.

:: 1996
June 9: Miss Hall goes missing after a night out at Cadillacs nightclub in Bath with her boyfriend of three weeks, German doctor Philip Karlbaum.

Police interview 850 people who were at the club and around 1,250 taxi drivers and mini-cab drivers.

Underwater search units begin a four-week trawl of a one-mile stretch of the River Avon.

June 17: Dr Karlbaum describes his devastation at his girlfriend's disappearance.

November: A reconstruction of Miss Hall's last-known movements is shown on BBC's Crimewatch.

:: 1998
June: Miss Hall's parents Steve and Patricia say they are almost certain she has been murdered as they make a new appeal on the second anniversary of her disappearance.

Mrs Hall says: "Not only has the person responsible deprived us of our daughter's life, but they have deprived us of laying her to rest with the love and dignity she deserves.

"She is out there on her own and we have nothing to grieve over."

:: 1999
August: Police divers search the River Avon again between Cleveland Bridge and Chatham Row after a tip-off from someone who remembered hearing a man and woman argue on the riverbank.

:: 2003
March: Two men from the Bath area, both in their 30s, are arrested over Ms Hall's death and later bailed.

Police spend two weeks searching fields in Inglesbatch village near Bath.

April: Officers appeal for a new witness, believed to be called Shelley, to come forward. The woman was drinking in a Bath pub the night Miss Hall disappeared.

August: The two men arrested in March are released without charge due to lack of evidence.

:: 2004
November 17: An inquest records an open verdict.

Coroner Paul Forrest says there was no explanation for her disappearance but speculates that she was killed soon after she went missing.

Her family make another appeal for information about her final moments.

:: 2006
June: Miss Hall's parents make another appeal on the 10th anniversary of her disappearance.

Mrs Hall said: "We feel somehow that we're running out of time - we would just like an outcome."

Mr Hall said: "You have to try to lock the awfulness of the truth at the back of your mind."

:: 2009
October 5: A workman finds a bag of bones as he is clearing vegetation on the M5 slip road at junction 14, north of Bristol.

October 8: Police confirm the remains have been identified as those of Melanie Hall.

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Online Child Abuse Action 'May Be Inadequate'

Hiring just seven extra full-time staff to track down images of child abuse online may prove "woefully insufficient", MPs have warned.

The move last year to double the existing number of staff came after internet companies were criticised for failing to block illegal images, especially after it emerged the perpetrators of several high-profile child murder cases had viewed such photographs.

The recruitment drive was paid for by money from members of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), including Google, which contributed £1m to the cause.

A Commons committee said the move was a step in the right direction but warned extra resources were needed, particularly among police forces.

"(We are) concerned that seven additional staff might prove woefully insufficient to achieve substantial progress towards what must be an important intermediate goal - the eradication of child abuse images from the open internet," a report from the culture, media and sport select committee said.

There is a "clear need to ensure the police have adequate resources to track down and arrest online paedophiles in sufficient numbers to act as a meaningful deterrent to others", it added.

Jim Gamble, the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said each police force should have 10 special constables dedicated to the job - a move that would cost an estimated £1.4m.

The committee's other recommendations include more prosecutions of adult websites that fail to prevent children accessing them.

It also criticised the "flimsy" age verification processes of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

John Whittingdale, chairman of the committee, said: "Today, one in five 12 to 16-year-olds think being bullied online is part of life.

"That, along with the harm done by relatively unfettered access to adult pornography online, represents a failure to protect our children."

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Claudia: Mystery Man Wanted Over Disappearance

By Gerard Tubb, North Of England Correspondent

A mystery man whose DNA was found in a car belonging to missing York cook Claudia Lawrence is being sought five years after her disappearance.

The possible clue is one of several potential new leads thrown up by a police review of the murder investigation.

Unknown DNA was found on a cigarette butt in Claudia's car

The 35-year-old should have walked to the University of York to start her shift at 6am on the morning of Thursday, March 18, 2009, but never arrived and was reported missing the following day by her father Peter, 70.

A lengthy police investigation drew a blank and a cold case review was launched in October, which has involved forensically re-examining her home in the Heworth area of York and re-interviewing her family and friends.

Fingerprints have also been found on items in Claudia's house

Detectives from North Yorkshire Police have now revealed:

:: A DNA profile of an unidentified male has been found on an Embassy Regal cigarette butt in her car.

:: Fingerprints of unidentified people have been found in Claudia's house.

:: Phone records show she spent time in the Acomb area of the city which has not been accounted for.

:: Her hair straighteners were missing from her home.

:: Her mobile phone was probably deliberately turned off at lunchtime on March 18.

:: Police are concentrating on a "number of individuals" but there are no official suspects.

Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn told a news conference that although the last known sighting of Claudia was on Wednesday afternoon, the evidence suggests she went missing the following day.

Police also want to identify this man

He said: "Claudia's bed was made and it appears that she had eaten breakfast and brushed her teeth, it is our belief that she had left for work on the morning of Thursday, 19 March, 2009."

Detectives have also released photographs of Claudia's car and the missing hair straighteners and CCTV pictures of a man they want to identify who told staff in a York Co-op store in April 2009 that he knew Claudia.

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Man Held After Three People Stabbed In Birmingham

A man has been arrested after three people - including two children - were stabbed at a house in Birmingham.

Police were called to an address in Little Green Lane, Small Heath, at 7.20am by a resident who reported hearing screams.

They were at the scene within minutes and arrested a man in the street and recovered a knife nearby; he has been taken to hospital with a minor cut to his hand.

A woman in her 40s and a teenage girl - believed to be aged 16 - were found inside the house with knife injuries while a younger girl, thought to be 13, was found on the pavement with stab injuries.

A baby was discovered unharmed inside the home and is currently being cared for by family members.

West Midlands Police Chief Inspector Jack Hadley, said: "All three casualties have suffered multiple knife wounds but the seriousness of their injuries is unclear at this stage.

"This appears to be a contained, domestic incident: one man was arrested outside the address and we are not actively seeking anyone else in connection with the incident."

Police have cordoned off Little Green Lane to allow forensic scene examiners to scour the location and clear space for the air ambulance to land.

Wyndcliffe Primary school - adjacent to the house in Little Green Lane - has been closed for the day.

 

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Claudia Lawrence: Dad's Grief On Anniversary

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

The father of missing York woman Claudia Lawrence says her five-year absence is "like a cancer" that "just gets worse and worse".

Peter Lawrence, speaking at a news conference to mark the fifth anniversary of his younger daughter's last known contact with anyone, appealed for people who know what happened to come forward.

The 67-year-old said he often wonders: "Where are you Claudia? Are you safe? Is someone holding you? Have you been hurt? Even, of course, are you alive?"

He added: "It's actually, I suppose, a bit like a cancer and it just gets worse and worse because there is no resolution until we know what happened to Claudia."

Ms Lawrence, 35, was reported missing after failing to turn up for her shift as a cook at the University of York on the morning of March 28, 2009.

North Yorkshire Police believe she was murdered, but a long-running investigation which focused on her relationships with men drew a blank and a new team of detectives launched a cold case review in October.

The terraced home where Claudia lived alone in the Heworth area of York has been re-examined by forensic experts, and her family and friends have been re-interviewed.

In the most personal and emotional of the many briefings Mr Lawrence has given since 2009, he made a direct appeal to whoever is responsible.

"Please, please, do realise what it is doing to us," he said. "It just eats into you like a hole and it is torture."

Mr Lawrence, a solicitor, praised the thoroughness of the new police team which is understood to have uncovered new leads.

Last week, Claudia's 70-year-old mother Joan told Sky News she believes the investigation, led by Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, will end the mystery.

"I think if they don't (solve the case), they will have tried their utmost," she said.

"They're working so hard on it. I don't think they'll give up easily."

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Half Of Footballers 'Have Seen Racism In Game'

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

More than half of Premier League and Football League players have witnessed or been subjected to racist abuse inside grounds, according to new research.

A survey of 200 active footballers by anti-discrimination group Kick It Out also found 20% of those questioned have witnessed racist abuse in dressing rooms or at a training ground, while 7% say abuse was directed towards them.

The results provide a dramatic snapshot of the level of discrimination witnessed by players in the English game and suggest there is still much to be done to banish it from the sport.

They come as the Football Association launches a series of videos intended to encourage players, fans and officials at all levels of the game to report discrimination wherever they see it.

The failure to report abuse, both at professional and grassroots level, has been highlighted as a factor in the continuing presence of discrimination in the game.

Kick It Out's survey, which was carried out between August and December last year, was conducted anonymously and was completed by a cross-section of players.

Black or ethnic minority players made up 32% of the sample, with 15% of the players at Premier League clubs and the remainder from the Football League.

As well as racism, homophobic abuse was widely reported in the survey, with 39% of players saying they had witnessed it in stadiums and 26% claiming they had seen it at training grounds or in the dressing room.

Players said they believed they were exposed to greater levels of abuse because of their profession, with 69% agreeing that was the case.

They overwhelmingly believe social media has made the problem worse, with 91% agreeing it has increased the level of discriminatory abuse.

The footballers also expressed concern about the level of black and ethnic minority representation among managers and executives, with some calling for compulsory interviews of black and ethnic minority candidates for all jobs.

Some 52% of players agreed there was an issue around the lack of black and minority ethnic managers and coaches, while 62% felt mandatory shortlisting should be in place for black and minority ethnic candidates.

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Childcare: £2,000 Boost For Working Parents

Working parents are to get up to £2,000 of tax-free childcare in a move to target families who are "running to stand still".

The scheme will be worth up to £2,000 per child per year when it launches in autumn next year - £800 more than the £1,200 originally proposed.

The Deputy Prime Minister told Sky News the move would target hard-working parents who were "going out to work just to pay the nursery fees" saying many felt they were just "running to stand still".

It was only expected to apply to children under the age of seven, but parents will now be entitled to the money until their son or daughter's 12th birthday.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg will unveil details of the childcare scheme

Nearly two million families could benefit from the scheme - twice as many as the present voucher scheme, which is only available where adopted by an employer.

However, it has been criticised for excluding couples where one parent does not work and for applying to richer households with incomes of up to £300,000.

Speaking to Sky News Nick Clegg denied the scheme was unfair and said families on Universal Credit would now have 85% of their childcare costs met.

Mr Clegg said: "If you have two children and you ahve to pay their childcare costs then it's (the scheme is) worth up to £4,000 to you."

David Cameron said the policy, which effectively covers 20% of childcare costs up to a maximum of £10,000 a year, would help "hard-pressed families" and "provide financial security for the future".

Earlier this month, the Family and Childcare Trust said parents now spend more on part-time childcare than their mortgage repayments.

However, Labour's Lucy Powell, the shadow minister for children, said the proposals were "too little, too late".

How it works

"Mr Cameron has cut support for children and families by £15bn since he came to office," she said.

"This Government has done nothing in this Parliament to help parents experiencing a cost-of-living crisis."

As well as the childcare tax break, the Government is to give an extra £50m to nurseries looking after the most deprived three and four-year-olds.

Families claiming Universal Credit will also have 85% of their childcare costs met, up from 70%.

The announcement comes as the Chancellor prepares to unveil this year's Budget.

George Osborne, who will set out the Government's spending plans for 2014-15 next Wednesday, has warned of "difficult decisions" to come.

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Osborne To Build For Britain In His Budget

By Anushka Asthana and Darren McCaffrey, Sky Political Team

George Osborne has announced that a "garden city" will be built in Britain for the first time in decades, based in Ebbsfleet, Kent, with 15,000 homes to start with.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's Budget, the Chancellor also pledged to extend the first phase of the help-to-buy scheme for new build homes until 2020.

The Government has chosen Ebbsfleet in Kent as a new garden city

Policies to drive up housing supply will be one plank of the financial statement, which Mr Osborne will use to warn that the tough times are not over.

He is expected to announce measures aimed at small business, families, and investors, including:

:: An increase in the tax-free element of the personal allowance to £10,500

:: A freeze in the carbon tax

:: Action to support British companies that export their goods

:: Tax relief for business investments of up to £250,000

:: An additional crackdown on tax avoidance

:: Investment in road and rail, including speeding up the HS2 project

:: A tax cut on bingo halls

Mr Osborne will also take the opportunity to talk once again about policies coming into place in April. These include a transferable tax allowance for married couples of up to £200 a year, a drop in corporation tax to 21% and the chance for UK employers to cut their national insurance payments by £2,000 a year.

Details of a planned £1,200 childcare tax break will be unveiled

The decision to freeze fuel duty this September, which was made last year, will also be reconfirmed.

And there could be support for families with childcare as the details of an expected £1,200 per-child tax-break scheme are published following a Government consultation.

But the Chancellor is unlikely to give in to pressure from Conservative grandees on the 40p tax rate. Former chancellors Lord Lamont and Lord Lawson have argued that the 4.4 million people now falling into the band, which kicks in at £41,450, is too high.

Although the threshold will rise by 1% this year, it is less than inflation.

Tory backbenchers and some business groups are also pushing for the rate to be used to deliver a middle class tax cut.

But Mr Osborne has argued that the tax allowance changes will benefit the middle classes.

Moreover, it has been reported that he is happy for more people to face the higher tax rate.

According to the Mail On Sunday, he told MPs: "It means they feel they are a success and joining the aspirational classes. That means they are more likely to think like Conservatives and vote Conservatives."

He said the polling backed his arguments, but the newspaper quoted an MP saying the comment was met with a "stunned silence".

Ed Balls says Mr Osborne's housing measures 'fall short'

A Treasury source said the overall tone of the Budget would be cautious with warnings of further austerity ahead. Mr Osborne will argue that his macroeconomic policies are working, but there must be no wavering from the plan.

The next step is building a "resilient economy".

"Britain has to up its ambition, Britain has to up its game, Britain has to earn its way in the world," he told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.

"Yes, the economy is recovering, but that is not enough. We have got to finish the job."

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky News the measures on housing fell short.

"We've asked him to invest in affordable housing, there's nothing on the table yet from him there," he said.

"At the moment we're calling on him to reduce the limit on help to buy from 600,000 - we've not had any action on that yet.

"And this is a promise to get a new town moving eventually, but it's not on the scale we need, or as fast as we need to deal with that cost of living crisis.

"I hope that when it comes to the budget on Wednesday, George Osborne's going to be giving a lot more than he's promised so far."

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Five UK Families 'Richer Than 12.6m Britons'

The five richest families in the UK are wealthier than the poorest fifth of the country combined, according to new figures.

Research by the charity Oxfam found the wealthiest households have more money than 12.6 million of the least well-off put together.

The wealthiest family in Britain is the Grovesnors, headed by the Duke of Westminster, with a fortune of £7.9bn mostly from the 190 acres of real estate it owns in London's Belgravia, according to the Forbes rich list.

Also on the list are brothers David and Simon Reuben, whose £6.9bn fortunes comes from metals and property, and the Hinduja brothers with trucking and banking businesses worth £6bn.

The Hinduja brothers are worth £6bn from trucking and banking

The Cadogan family, who are worth £4bn from owning property and land in Chelsea and Knightsbridge in London and Cadogan Estates, and Newcastle United FC owner and Sports Direct clothing chain boss Mike Ashley, whose fortune is valued at £3.3bn, complete the top five.

In its Tale Of Two Britains report, Oxfam found the gap between rich and poor has grown significantly over the last two decades.

It said the richest 0.1% of the population have seen incomes grow nearly four times faster than the poorest 90% of the country.

The wealthy elite have an extra £24,000 in their pockets every year - enough to buy a small yacht or a sports car and almost as much as the average UK salary of £26,500.

Ben Phillips, director of campaigns and policy at Oxfam, said: "Britain is becoming a deeply divided nation, with a wealthy elite who are seeing their incomes spiral up, whilst millions of families are struggling to make ends meet.

"It's deeply worrying that these extreme levels of wealth inequality exist in Britain today, where just a handful of people have more money than millions struggling to survive on the breadline."

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is valued at £3.3bn

Ahead of this week's Budget, Oxfam has called on the Chancellor to raise revenues from those most able to afford it.

It wants to see a renewed clamp down on tax dodgers, as well as a long-term strategy to raise the minimum wage - which will rise from £6.31 to £6.50 in October - to a so-called 'living wage'.

"Increasing inequality is a sign of economic failure rather than success," Mr Phillips said.

"It's time for our leaders to stand up and be counted on this issue."

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MPs Attack Sale Of Royal Mail Postcode Database

The Government has been slammed for selling a valuable database of every British postcode and address in last year's flotation of the Royal Mail.

Ministers were strongly criticised for including the register, which contains 1.8 million postcodes and all 28 million addresses, to help boost the share price in the initial public offering (IPO).

The cross-party Commons Public Administration Committee said the Postcode Address File (PAF) was a "national asset" which should have been retained and made publicly available to benefit businesses and the economy.

It said the PAF's sale achieved only "short-term gain" in last autumn's IPO and was an "unacceptable and unnecessary consequence of privatisation".

The committee said losing the database to the private sector has the potential to thwart economic innovation and growth.

Unions were highly critical of the Royal Mail privatisation

Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin said: "The sale of the PAF with the Royal Mail was a mistake. Public access to public sector data must never be sold or given away again."

The PAF holds all known Royal Mail delivery points in the UK.

The committee said an immense amount of work went into collecting the database and said it was of "huge direct value" to the economy.

The Royal Mail flotation was widely criticised for having an undervalued opening price.

The Government sold shares last October for 330p each, valuing the company's equity at £3.3bn.

Shares rose to more than 500p within a week of the sale, drawing more criticism of the float price.

Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman later revealed investment bank JP Morgan had previously told the Government that the Royal Mail could be worth near to £10bn - 200% up on the float price.

Business Secretary Vince Cable opposed a planned pay rise the firm's boss

The PAC added: "The Postcode Address File was included in the sale to boost the Royal Mail share price at flotation.

"This takes an immediate but narrow view of the value of such data sets."

"The PAF should have been retained as a public data set, as a national asset, available free to all, for the benefit of the public and for the widest benefit of the UK economy.

"Its disposal for a short-term gain will impede economic innovation and growth. This was an unacceptable and unnecessary consequence of privatisation."

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Police Search For Missing Mother And Child

Police are searching for a one-year-old girl who was taken by her mother during a supervised visit in the West Midlands.

Lola Page was in the care of social services and being looked after by foster parents in Walsall.

Her mother Stacey Ball, 18, took the child from an address in Stroud Avenue, Willenhall, at 1pm on Friday.

It is believed they got into a dark-coloured car which then drove away.

Officers said there have been no sightings of the pair and are becoming increasingly concerned for their welfare.

Police have issued this photo of the pair taken on the day Lola disappeared

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Markham said: "We urgently need Stacey to make contact with us or anyone who may know their whereabouts."

Police have issued a photo of the pair taken on the day Lola disappeared.

The child was wearing a white cardigan and a blue polka dot dress.

Her mother was wearing a long black wig, black leggings and a black and tan patterned dress.

:: Anyone with information should call West Midlands Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Childcare Tax Break: Details To Be Unveiled

Details of a planned £1,200 childcare tax break for families is expected to be unveiled in next week's Budget, according to Sky sources.

Help with the expense of childcare is one of the things people have been pressing for said Sky's Political Correspondent Anushka Asthana, and is part of the Government's drive to help families as well as business.

Figures recently revealed the cost to families for part-time childcare is more than the monthly mortgage repayment.

It follows a consultation on tax breaks for families, and will replace the current childcare voucher system which means everybody who is working, including the self-employed, will be able to qualify for it.

The current voucher system depends on whether an employer agreed to it, and at the moment only 5% do.

It came as Chancellor George Osborne warned  of more "difficult decisions" to come in Wednesday's Budget.

Writing in The Sun on Sunday, he confirmed he will use his Commons statement to outline details of the Government's promised cap on welfare payments.

Details of the cap on welfare payments will also be unveiled in the Budget

And he underlined the need to "not waver" from plans to tackle the budget deficit and deal with Britain's debts.

He wrote: "That plan has delivered economic stability and low mortgage rates for families and it has laid the foundations for economic recovery."

But the deficit remained too high, which was why workers in the public sector faced another year of pay restraint and welfare spending would be capped from 2015.

"None of these decisions are easy, but the alternatives are worse," he wrote.

In a sideswipe at his opponents, Mr Osborne said: "Ed Balls and Ed Miliband haven't learned any lessons from the last time they crashed the British economy.

"The question is simple: Why would you give the keys back to the people who crashed the car?"

But Mr Balls, Labour's shadow chancellor, accused Mr Osborne of being "out of touch", and argued ordinary people had yet to see any improvement in their standard of living.

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Claudia Lawrence Case: Mother's 'Nightmare'

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

The mother of the missing York woman Claudia Lawrence has praised a new team of detectives investigating her daughter's disappearance and says she constantly thinks of the events she has missed.

Joan Lawrence, 70, says she is confident that the re-launched investigation which began last October is doing all it can to uncover why Claudia, 35, vanished without trace five years ago.

"I think if they don't [solve the case] they will have tried their utmost, and they're working so hard on it," she said.

"I don't think they'll easily give up."

Claudia was reported missing by her father Peter Lawrence, 67, on the morning of March 19 2009 after she failed to turn up for her shift as a cook at the University of York the previous day.

Mother Joan Lawrence is hopeful of the re-launched investigation

Detectives believe she was murdered, but an extensive investigation drew a blank with no trace of her being found and no arrests made.

Mrs Lawrence, who is divorced from Claudia's father, has shown Sky News childhood pictures of Claudia and her older sister Ali in the hope that they might prick the conscience of someone who knows what happened.

"She's missed so much," she said as she looked through photographs showing Claudia as a smiling, dark-haired girl growing up in Malton in North Yorkshire.

"Her best friend has got two children, she missed her wedding, her godmother's died, there's so many things happened in five years," she said.

Claudia mysteriously vanished from her home five years ago

In a briefing to mark the fifth anniversary of the day she was reported missing, detectives are expected to reveal new information about her last-known movements and appeal for information about two vehicles seen in the area at the time. 

Mrs Lawrence, who has never hidden her frustration with the first police investigation, says she hopes the new team led by Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn will be able to solve the mystery.

"One way or the another I have to find out, I can't go on and on and on," she said.

"I need to know and I'll never ever give up hope."

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