Parties Reel From UKIP Election Success

UKIP's haul of seats in the council elections is up to 184 with the main parties now mulling the prospect of four-party politics in next year's general election.

Nigel Farage has said his anti-EU party is a "serious player" for 2015 after they added 167 councillors at the expense of the Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats.

UKIP made gains in traditional Labour and Conservative heartlands, including strong showings in Rotherham - where it returned 10 out of 21 councillors.

It also got a big thumbs thumbs up from 'Essex Man' with a strong showing in areas such as Thurrock, Castle Point and Basildon.

However, it still does not have overall control of any council, and fared particularly poorly in London

Nigel Farage claims the 'UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse'

Mr Farage told the leaders of the main parties he would "see them in Westminster" and said the results showed UKIP had the potential to cause an "earthquake" at the general election.

"The UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse," he claimed.

"If voters think we are in with a chance of winning next year, then we are."

Sky News projections suggest UKIP would only return one MP next year - its first, but the possibility of it building momentum and wooing more voters over the next year is a major headache for party leaders.

The state of play with just two councils still to announce their results

The Prime Minister conceded the Conservatives had to start delivering on immigration and welfare reform, and said the public had become "frustrated" with the status quo.

Critics have also rounded on Labour leader Ed Miliband, saying he failed to mount a serious campaign to tackle UKIP and pointing to a series of PR blunders in the run up to polling day.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the public had grown 'frustrated'

Mr Miliband, who has promised to help families cut living costs through policies such as freezing energy prices, was accused of being out of touch when he underestimated the cost of a weekly food shop.

Labour's election was far from a disaster - it gained control of five more councils in the election - but the gains are thought to be some way from the shot in the arm the party needs to head towards an overall majority in 2015.

Another hung parliament could be on the cards if voters go the same way in 2015, with Sky projections pointing towards Labour falling short by 18 MPs.

Ed Miliband made several PR gaffes in the run-up to the election

The Liberal Democrats also had a dismal election night as voters ensured Nick Clegg's party lost control of councils in Kingston-Upon-Thames and Portsmouth.

Mr Clegg admitted the party had done badly but said: "Actually I think in the areas where we have MPs where we have good organisation on the ground ... we are actually doing well."

UKIP made gains in areas of Essex such as Southend, where it won five seats

With 159 or 161 councils now declared, Labour have won 3,999 seats, giving it control of 81 councils - an increase of five.

The Conservatives have 2,679 seats overall, controlling 41 councils - down 13; and the Liberal Democrats picked up 882 seats, seeing the number of councils under their control falling from eight to six.

The focus now moves to Sunday night when the count will come in for the European election.

:: Follow all the results as they come in on Twitter with @skyelections.

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Labour Badly Bruised By UKIP In Stronghold

Why The Only Way For Essex Is UKIP

Updated: 8:12pm UK, Friday 23 May 2014

By Jason Farrell, Political Correspondent

Standing by the roadside in their purple rosettes are two retired Essex men, Malcolm Elliott and Dave Morrish. They are brothers-in-law, both living in Thurrock.

One is a right-wing Thatcherite - the other a former left-wing activist who emigrated when Margaret Thatcher was in power.

They have never agreed on politics until now. Now they are waiting for their hero of the hour to arrive, Nigel Farage.

As the anticipation builds, Malcolm tells me: "I've been a socialist all my life but not anymore because nobody's listening."

"What do you think of Ed Miliband?" I ask.

"I don't frankly. I don't believe in any of them anymore."

His brother-in-law Dave agrees. "I voted Tory for 47 years. But I feel it doesn't matter if you vote Tory, Labour or the Lib Dems, what you're going to get is the EU and that's what I don't want. Renegotiation is a nonsense. Every European treaty states that it's not negotiable."

In the local elections UKIP has increased its number of seats in Thurrock from one to six, meaning the council is no longer controlled by Labour. Thanks to UKIP the Conservatives also lost control of Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point and Southend: Essex man is becoming UKIP man.

As Mr Farage arrives the activists can hardly reach him for the cameras. The UKIP leader tells reporters his success in Essex does not mean he will stand for a seat here.

He also fields a number of questions about why his party failed to make the same impact down the road in London, where they only got 7% of the vote.

"We have a weak voluntary structure in London," he says. "We haven't built it. We haven't developed it. We haven't had the right local leaders. Once we get the right local Leaders we will start having results like this in London."

In previous elections this seat has seesawed from red to blue. The nearby parade of shops tells its own story of a community in decline. A pound shop, a Boots, a butcher's and a Greggs are among a row of otherwise boarded and shuttered facades. The butcher tells me that in the last five years for every shop that has closed, nothing has replaced them.

In Thurrock more than one in five children live in poverty. There has been a 200% increase in the use of food banks in recent months. If Ed Miliband's message about the "cost of living crisis" were to resonate anywhere, you would think it would be here. But instead they are more interested in what Mr Farage has to say about the EU and immigration.

In the local coffee shop I ask a group of pensioners why that is. "In this area we've swung between Labour and the Conservatives," says one man. "And what have either of them done for us? They've put their pay up 11% while our pensions have gone up 1%." There are six of them round the table and they all support UKIP.

The current MP is conservative Jackie Doyle-Price. With a shock of bleach-blonde hair and an upbringing on a Sheffield estate, she is far from fitting the Tories characterisation of Etonian established elite, and she is not someone to trot out the agreed party message.   

"There's been a definite mood on the doorstep of people saying the political classes don't speak to us anymore and if you look at the Westminster debate it's become very managerial, very bland, and along come UKIP with some populist messages and people say to themselves, let's give the main political parties a good kicking, and they have."

The overall mood is that Thurrock feels neglected and ignored by Westminster and therefore easily swept along by a new political wind. It seems, for many in Essex, the only way is UKIP.

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Missing Yacht: Life Raft Discovered Unused

The life raft on the missing yacht Cheeki Rafiki has been found unused in its storage space, the US Coast Guard has said.

The search for the missing British sailors ended at 3am UK time after a search of the capsized boat found the only realistic means of survival had not been deployed.

An RAF Hercules plane has also stopped searching after the discovery, the Foreign Office said.

From left: Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male and Paul Goslin

US Navy divers found a completely flooded cabin with shattered windows, said the Coast Guard.

"A US Navy warship smallboat crew and surface swimmer captured underwater imagery clearly identifying the raft in its storage space [behind the wheel]. The image was shared with and acknowledged by the families," said a statement.

The raft was found stored in the aft of the boat Pic: US Coast Guard

"The crew and swimmer deployed to investigate the overturned boat after a helicopter crew located it 1,000 miles offshore Massachusetts and within the US Coast Guard's search area.

"The Navy surface swimmer determined the boat's cabin was flooded and windows were shattered, contributing to the complete flooding inside."

It had already been announced that the search would be called off in the early hours of Saturday if no signs of possible survival were discovered.

"None of the current developments" indicate the crew are still alive, said the US Coast Guard.

The search effort involved military aircraft and ships

A statement on behalf of Steve Warren's family said it was an "incredibly difficult" time and that the search effort had been "exceptional".

The upturned 40ft yacht had been found on Friday, with divers first knocking on the hull to check for signs of life.

The families had said they were still hopeful their loved ones would be found despite the search being only hours from ending.

The men's familes had campaigned for the search to go on

Relatives of Steve Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, said they had been told "endless stories" of people surviving for months at sea.

The vessel ran into difficulties on May 15 and began taking on water while returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua.

Yacht training and charter company Stormforce Coaching said it had been in contact with the skipper at the time, and that the crew were keeping the situation stable.

The Cheeki Rafiki had been at a regatta in Antigua

The original search was halted after 53 hours amid bad weather but resumed on Tuesday after a request from the UK government and a online petition which collected more than 200,000 names.

The hunt included commercial vessels as well as aircraft from the US Coast Guard, US Navy, US Air Force, the Canadian military and the RAF.

Rescuers scoured more than 21,000 square miles of ocean during their second search for the boat.

Experts had agreed it would be impossible for the crew to survive outside of the life raft in cold, rough seas.

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Natasha McShane's Attacker Jailed For 90 Years

A man convicted of the attempted murder of UK exchange student Natasha McShane in Chicago four years ago has been jailed for 90 years.

Ms McShane, from Silverbridge, Co Armagh, and her American friend Stacy Jurich, 24, were left bleeding and unconscious during a robbery on April 23, 2010, in Chicago.

Heriberto Viramontes was found guilty in October

Heriberto Viramontes, 34, was found guilty in October.

In sentencing him to 90 years, Cook County Judge Jorge Alonso said Viramontes was motivated by "greed and hate" when he attacked the two young women, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

"You attacked them with all the force you could muster and you left them there to die," Mr Alonso said.

"Their only sin was believing it was safe to walk four or five blocks in the city of Chicago."

Ms McShane, who was 23 at the time of the attack, was beaten with a baseball bat and left with brain damage.

She is no longer able to speak or walk unassisted as a result of her head injuries.

Ms Jurich, 28, told the judge: "In an instant, I went from smiling and laughing to being on my knees dripping with blood wondering if Natasha was alive."

The newspaper reported that Ms Jurich and Ms Mcshane's mother hugged after the sentence was read out, and welcomed the lengthy jail time.

Ms McShane had been studying urban planning at the University of Illinois when the attack occurred.

The case shocked Northern Ireland.

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Fracking: Billions Of Barrels Of Oil In UK

Large reserves of shale oil are expected to be revealed as a new report today highlights the possibility of fracking across southern England.

The long-awaited survey by the British Geological Survey (BGS) is likely to confirm substantial reserves in Conservative strongholds Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire.

It comes as communities affected by fracking will reportedly be offered average payouts of £800,000 to try to win over opponents of the technique.

Prime Minister David Cameron, a supporter of fracking, will announce the extra compensation in addition to a one-off payment of £100,000 and a 1% share of profits, according to The Times.

Anti-fracking protests took place last year in Balcombe, West Sussex

The BGS has already suggested there could be enough shale gas in the north of England to supply Britain for 40 years.

And it now it appears large areas of the south are in line for the controversial extraction technique.

The South Downs National Park lies across much of the area likely to hold reserves totalling several billion barrels of oil.

Supporters believe fracking will lead to lower energy bills and create thousands of jobs.

But critics claim it harms the environment, including potentially causing small earthquakes and polluting water supplies.

Fracking firm Cuadrilla faced fierce protests last year over its exploratory drilling plans at Balcombe, West Sussex, with some activists arrested.

Licences have already been approved for areas such as Lancashire, with further swathes of the country said to have fracking potential.

Fracking involves fracturing underground rocks to release oil and gas

The technique, widely used in the US, involves high pressure liquid being pumped deep underground to split shale rock and release gas and oil supplies.

Ministers are also said to be planning to give energy firms the right to lay pipelines under houses without worrying about trespass laws.

This would mean they would not have to get permission from homeowners.

Business Secretary Vince Cable told Sky News that drilling under houses had been going on for years in the coal industry.

"It's not been any issue," said the Liberal Democrat MP.

"We're talking about activity well, well below ground level - not under people's gardens. Providing that's clearly understood, it creates less of a problem."

Mr Cable said people involved in the fracking debate appeared to be "over-reacting in both directions".

"People are terrified this is going to pollute and compromise the environment - it doesn't have to do that.

"People think it's going to be some great economic bonanza - I doubt that."

Oil and gas in the North Sea is still attracting investment and is a key part of the UK's energy supply, the Business Secretary told Sky.

"There is a danger that people get so obsessed by the long-term possibilities of fracking ... It's a long way to go.

"People think this is some miracle round the corner - it certainly isn't that. Providing there are proper safeguards for the environment, and there have to be proper safeguards, there is no reason why it should create a backlash."

Friends of the Earth's South East regional campaigner, Brenda Pollack said: "These latest estimates will set alarm bells ringing across the South of England where fracking firms seem intent on punching holes in some of Britain's most beautiful countryside in the search for profits."

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Barclays Fined £26m Over Gold Fixing Attempts

Barclays Bank has been fined more than £26m by the City watchdog over attempted gold price manipulation, it has been confirmed.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the bank failed to adequately manage conflicts of interest between itself and customers.

It said failures occurred between 2004 and 2013.

The bank, which has previously been fined over Libor rate-fixing, was fined £26,033,500.

Gold fixing is a financial term used to describe the somewhat arcane price-setting mechanism that allows investors to buy and sell gold at a single quoted price.

Barclays is one of four banks that sets the price of the precious metal twice a day, in US dollars, on the London Gold Exchange and in Paris and Zurich.

It joined the group in 2004, and the other members are Scotiabank, Societe Generale and HSBC.

The FCA said: "On 28 June 2012, former Barclays trader Daniel James Plunkett exploited the weaknesses in Barclays' systems and controls to seek to influence that day's 3pm setting of the gold price and thereby profited at a customer's expense."

"As a result of Plunkett's actions, Barclays was not obligated to make a $3.9m (£2.3m) payment to its customer, although it later compensated the customer in full.

"Plunkett's actions boosted his own trading book by $1.75m (excluding hedging)."

The watchdog also fined Mr Plunkett £95,600 and has banned him from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity.

He can, however, work in financial markets in other countries.

The gold price manipulation scandal is the latest issue to tarnish the reputation of the bank.

It recently suffered a shareholder backlash - announcing a 32% fall in annual profits to £5.2bn but raising its staff bonus pool by 10% to £2.38bn.

Responding to the latest fine imposed by regulators, Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins said: "We very much regret the situation that led to this settlement.

"Barclays has undertaken a significant amount of work to enhance our systems and controls and is committed to the highest standards across all of our operations."

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Patients Discharged At Night: 'It's Sickening'

Sky News viewers have reacted with anger at our investigation that shows the number of patients leaving hospital in England between 11pm and 6am has risen.

Health Correspondent Thomas Moore's report comes despite NHS bosses ordering a crackdown on the practice.

Sarah Louise Matthews-Lang wrote on Facebook: "I'm a care assistant in a brilliant care home and it sickens me if a resident of ours gets sent back to us at 2am, yes that's right 2am.

"It's shocking how they send them back without relatives, so they are very distressed due to this. Yes I do give the hospital hell as this is abuse, and so do the family that doesn't get information from hospital when they should."

Diane Widger wrote: "I worked in a specialist care home and they sent patients back to us very late at night in the cold and looking distressed!!"

Pepper Ferne also wrote on Facebook: "Yes, it happened to me recently from Leeds General Infirmary. Discharged at 1am, still very shaky and ill. Had to go walking the city and pay £10.00 for a hackney cab home."

However Alan Reynolds thinks it is a difficult decision for the hospitals.

He wrote: "Who has the greater need for the bed: the person in A&E needing treatment or the person whose treatment has been completed? Seems obvious to me, and it looks a case of needs must. How this is managed to maximise utilisation of a scarce resource may not be easy to answer."

Alexander Crossley wrote on Twitter: "If a patient is healthy enough to go home at 2am they should do so the hospital can treat others."

Rachel Fedden worte on Facebook: "I was discharged from the maternity unit at 10pm. Had to wait half an hour for hubby to collect me bringing the 7 and 5 yr olds with him. I was back in 2 days later with same problem!"

Kyasurin Pope also wrote on Facebook: "I was discharged at 2am when I had kidney stones.They were prepping me for the wards and put my drip in and things then suddenly had a phone call and told me to go home. Its atrocious."

:: Have your say on Facebook or share your experiences on Twitter using the hashtag #nhsovernight

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Marine Loses Appeal Over Afghanistan Murder

A Royal Marine serving 10 years for murdering an injured fighter in Afghanistan has lost an appeal against his conviction.

Sergeant Blackman was convicted of murder in November 2013 and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 10 years.

He was also "dismissed with disgrace" from the Royal Marines after serving with distinction for 15 years.

At a recent hearing his legal team claimed his conviction was "unsafe" and his sentence "manifestly excessive".

Although Blackman, 39, lost his conviction appeal, his sentence was cut to eight years.

More follows...

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Hundreds Discharged From Hospitals Every Night

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

Thousands of NHS patients are being discharged from hospitals every year in the middle of the night despite bosses ordering a crackdown on the practice, a Sky News investigation has found.

The number of patients leaving hospital in England between 11pm and 6am has actually risen in the last two years, new figures show.

In almost half of cases, the proportion of patients discharged overnight has increased.

In April 2012 NHS England medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh called on hospitals to cut down on overnight discharges following a series of cases where vulnerable patients had been left to make their own way home.

Dr Mike Smith has said the practice is driven by the need for beds

The NHS was accused of discharging patients overnight to try to free up beds.

However, figures obtained by Sky News following Freedom of Information (FOI) requests show that since Sir Bruce's intervention the practice is still widespread and in many cases rising.

According to the figures more than 300,000 patients have been discharged late at night since 2012 - an average of around 400 a night. Tens of thousands of those patients were over 75.

As only 72 of England's 160 NHS trusts were able to provide full figures for the last three years, the true number is certain to be far higher.

Dr Mike Smith, chair of the Patients Association, said: "They have got people in A&E chomping at the bit, lying in corridors, they have got to be admitted and they have no beds.

The number of patients discharged overnight increased at 41 hospital trusts

"It's for the convenience of staff and the person they are admitting but at the gross detriment to the person they are chucking out."

Experts say that patients often end up in care homes in the middle of the night.

Nadra Ahmed, chair of the National Care Association, said: "They are going back without any relevant information about how their care might have changed, what the diagnosis might have been, their paperwork is not following because people are off duty and often without the relevant medication they need for the following day or even through the night."

Patient Michael Atkinson told Sky News that in March 2013 he was discharged from the Royal Bolton Hospital A&E at 3am, despite being in a confused state.

He was found by police an hour later wandering on a cricket pitch almost a mile away.

He said: "I did not know who I was, where I was. I did not know where I was going. I was just wandering basically. I was in pain."

Michael Atkinson was found wandering after he was discharged overnight

His wife Helen said: "He could have died. He was blue with cold. Something must be done to stop this happening. You are in hospital for a reason - to be looked after."

The hospital said that Mr Atkinson had left before transport could be arranged for him but said that staff had tried to learn lessons from the incident.

Sky News asked 160 NHS trusts in England how many patients had been discharged between 11pm and 6am in the past three years.

Of those, 72 trusts provided figures for all three years. In 41 cases, the number of patients discharged overnight increased.

In 31 cases the proportion of patients discharged between 11pm and 6am increased. In three trusts it remained the same.

Of the 72 trusts that replied, 152,472 patients were discharged between 11pm and 6am in 2011/12, rising to 152,479 in 2013/14.

The figures also reveal that 20,152 were aged over 75 in 2011/12; 19,728 in 2012/13 and 18,548 in 2013/14.

The proportion of patients discharged overnight remained the same at 2.41%.

Some 25 trusts said they did not collect the data or that it would take too much time to find it and the remaining hospitals did not reply to the FOI request.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: "Discharging patients at night without appropriate support is unacceptable, particularly if a patient is vulnerable.

"Where a patient wishes to leave late at night or early in the morning, it should be accommodated only where it is safe and clinically appropriate and with the support of family, friends or carers.

"The decision to do this should always be based on what is best for the patient."

:: Have your say on Facebook or share your experiences on Twitter using the hashtag #nhsovernight

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Food Worth £1bn Wasted Every Year Across UK

By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

Food worth £1bn is wasted in the UK every year before it even reaches our fridges, according to figures obtained by Sky News.

Damage, flawed appearance and the cost of recycling are just some of the justifications used for throwing food away.

Growers, producers and retailers together bin an average of 400,000 tons annually, or more than 950 million meals.

For the first time, Britain's biggest food retailer, Tesco, is expected to publish the amount of food wasted each year within its UK operations.

The figures will show that more than 50,000 tons - about 1% of all products - gets thrown out.

Matt Simister, Commercial Director, Group Food at Tesco, said: "It really does impact a family's budget.

"What we're saying is that we acknowledge that we have a role to play in helping mums to save more money in the household.

Tesco says it is trying to reduce waste at private distribution centres

"We can reduce the wastage in our own operations, but I think more importantly, we can start to influence the wastage that happens across the whole system."

Families throw away around six meals a week.

Over a year, that can cost up to £700, according to the latest figures from the UK's Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) published in November.

So when you add in what is wasted by consumers too, the total value is closer to £13.5bn.

At private distribution centres, Tesco says it's trying to reduce the tonnage of edible waste.

Food that is perfectly edible, but unsuitable for store shelves, is packed up and sent out to charities that feed the hungry.

Even if the economic recovery does ease the pinch on family budgets this year, the cost of some basic foods will continue to rise, according to market experts.

Halving the amount of discarded food is a goal for Wrap

Joe Rundle, a trader at ETX Capital, said: "Corn, coffee, meat … everything is going to go up considerably.

"In the short term there are seasonal factors and environmental issues that have caused the spike."

Brazil, a large coffee producer, has experienced drought, and tension between Ukraine and Russia has prompted a rise in the price of wheat.

"In the long term we are going to see an emerging middle class in the emerging markets that are really going to consume a lot more food and therefore push the price up."

Mr Rundle added: "That will probably mean that consumers are going to have to change the way they consume food and think about the way they waste it."

Wrap wants to halve the amount of discarded food by 2025.

Achieving that target should also mean the cost to consumers comes down too.

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Royal Mail Launches Sunday Parcel Deliveries

Royal Mail is to start delivering parcels and opening delivery offices on Sundays, in response to the rapid growth of online shopping.

The recently-privatised firm says parcels will be delivered on Sundays later this summer to addresses within the M25. 

Around 100 of the busiest delivery offices will open on Sunday afternoons as part of the pilot.

The group's express parcels business, Parcelforce Worldwide, will also launch a Sunday delivery service in June for online shoppers through participating e-retailers.

Parcelforce Worldwide will make the service available to contract customers across the UK.

Shoppers who choose the Sunday service through registered retailers will receive a text message between 30 and 90 minutes before delivery.

Royal Mail said the changes were being introduced under an agreement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

Chief executive Moya Greene said: "Through these new Sunday services we are exploring ways to improve our flexibility and provide more options for people to receive items they have ordered online."

Union support for the move had enabled the company to "respond quickly to a changing market", she added.

CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward said: "Royal Mail's announcement about expanding delivery and collection services to seven days a week is an exciting innovation which we welcome.

"We appreciate that in order to stay competitive in a broadly unregulated sector, Royal Mail has to expand its services to its customers.

"We believe that offering Sunday delivery and collection services is the right response from the company.

"With ever-increasing numbers of people opting to shop online, Sunday services are necessary to deal with the growing demand in parcel delivery.

"The union is negotiating with Royal Mail nationally to ensure that postal workers who are affected by these changes receive good terms and conditions and, where appropriate, that work is performed on a voluntary basis."

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Prince Charles 'Compares Putin To Hitler'

Prince Charles has reportedly compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler over his actions in Ukraine.

The Prince of Wales' alleged remark about Mr Putin came during a four-day tour of Canada when he spoke to a woman who fled the Nazis and lost family members in the Holocaust.

A spokesman for Clarence House said: "We do not comment on private conversations.

"But we would like to stress that the Prince of Wales would not seek to make a public political statement during a private conversation."

Charles was being shown around the Museum of Immigration in Halifax, Nova Scotia, along with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The royal couple paid tribute to World War Two veterans and their families, and during the course of the visit they spoke to museum volunteer Marianne Ferguson.

Ms Ferguson told the Prince she fled to Canada with her family in 1939, not long before Hitler annexed the Baltic coastal Free City of Gdansk.

Prince Charles and Camilla in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island

After meeting Charles, the 78-year-old told the Daily Mail: "The Prince said 'And now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler'.

"I must say that I agree with him and am sure a lot of people do.

"But I was very surprised that he made the comment as I know they [members of the Royal Family] aren't meant to say these things.

"I told the Prince that while my family and I were lucky to get a permit to travel, many members of my relatives had permits but were unable to get out before the war broke out on September 1.

"They were sent to the concentration camps and died."

The Mail reported that the Prince made his comments while surrounded by media and they were heard by several witnesses.

Mr Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Sky News: "I don't know anything about it. I can't really trust the Daily Mail as a source."

Protesters in Kiev have also compared Putin to Hitler

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg backed Prince Charles on his LBC Radio phone-in, saying: "Prince Charles should be perfectly entitled to express views in the confidence that he's expressing them privately."

But Labour (Co-op) MP Mike Gapes, who represents Ilford South, said the Prince "should abdicate" if he wants to make controversial statements.

He said on Twitter: "If Prince Charles wants to make controversial statements on national or international issues he should abdicate and stand for election.

"In constitutional monarchy, policy and diplomacy should be conducted by parliament and government. Monarchy should be seen and not heard."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has backed Mr Putin's anti-EU stance in the past, said: "Prince Charles has made those comments - I know some people feel that way about Putin.

"I think there's a difference. The difference is right from the very start Hitler was expansionist, and we haven't see very much evidence of that until now from Putin and arguably, what's happened in the Ukraine is because he's been poked with a stick by the rest of the world."

Mr Putin is in Shanghai meeting with Xi Jinping and other world leaders

Charles and the Russian leader are due to meet next month when they attend the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6.

Mr Putin has faced international anger over Russia's actions in neighbouring Ukraine, including the controversial annexation of Crimea.

In March, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly said Mr Putin's claim to be be defending ethnic Russians in Crimea was "what Hitler did back in the '30s".

She later backtracked, claiming she was not making a direct comparison but that Russia's behaviour was "reminiscent" of Germany in the build-up to the Second World War.

Prince Charles has been known for speaking his mind on issues such as architecture and the environment, but he rarely makes his feelings known on diplomatic matters.

There is an ongoing legal battle over the publication of letters he has sent to politicians, with the attorney general concerned their release could compromise the Prince's neutrality and create constitutional problems.

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Biker Simon Andrews Dies After Race Crash

A "superb" biker has died after crashing during a top competition in Northern Ireland.

Simon Andrews was injured on Saturday as he approached a corner on the fourth lap of the Superstock race at North West 200.

The 31-year-old, from Evesham, Worcestershire, was treated at the scene and then airlifted to Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital, where he was placed in intensive care.

He died on Monday with his parents, Stuart and Dee, his girlfriend Lisa and best friend Breakers, by his bedside.

Andrews was riding for the Penz13.com BMW team and no other bikers were involved in the crash.

His father Stuart Andrews said his son "loved road racing" and "loved competing" at the event which runs between the towns of Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine.

He added: "He has had a motorbike since he was four years old and started racing when he was 16.

"From that first race Simon progressed to riding for the factory Honda TT Legends team and his mum and I are very proud of his racing achievements.

"Road racing was in his blood and Simon preferred the roads to short circuits. He was fully aware of the dangers involved but he loved the challenge that that offered."

North West 200 event director Mervyn Whyte said "This is a very sad day and I want to offer my condolences to Simon's family and friends and to his race team.

"Simon was a superb rider and a great character in the paddock. He was a huge asset to our race. It was an absolute pleasure to work with him. He will be sadly missed."

The Superstock race is for "stock" road-going production motorcycles which feature only minor modifications, including the removal of all stock road equipment such as lights and mirrors.

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Hillsborough Jurors To Examine The Stadium

By Mike McCarthy, North of England Correspondent

A fresh stage in the Hillsborough Inquests begins today in which jurors will examine the layout of the Sheffield stadium.

After hearing what are described as "uncontroversial facts" and seeing a computer-generated 3D graphic of the ground, members of the jury will visit the location themselves on Friday.

The new phase in the proceedings follows a three-week adjournment which was granted after lawyers asked for more time to consider pathology evidence.

It begins with a presentation by a senior detective working for Operation Resolve - a separate police investigation into the causes of the 1989 disaster in which 96 people lost their lives.

Detective Superintendent Neil Malkin will cover a number of topics including previous inquiries in an address expected to last two days.

The tragedy occurred during a 1989 FA Cup semi-final

The inquests, which are being held in a converted office block in Warrington, are expected to last for up to a year and have so far heard from relatives of those who died. 

Their evidence, described as 'pen portraits', covered 11 days. 

After the last one was read out, lawyer Michael Mansfield QC, who is acting for many of the bereaved families, told the coroner: "They wish to express both to you and your counsel and to everyone in this court their appreciation… for the care, for the patience, for the understanding that has been extended to each of them.

"This has enabled them to unlock painful memories, as you described them last week, upsetting but also uplifting. It has provided… a permanent testament to the dignity of the human spirit."   

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House Prices Up As PM Signals On Help To Buy

House prices rose in the year to March by 8% official figures show, as David Cameron said he will "consider" changes to the Help To Buy scheme if advised to do so by the Bank of England.

While the increase is down on the 9.2% rise in February, according to the Office for National Statistics, the continued strong price growth, particularly in London and the South East, is set to fuel criticism of the Government scheme underwriting home loans for people without large deposits.

It comes after the Bank of England governor Mark Carney told Sky News the housing market had "deep, deep" problems

In an interview with Sky's Murnaghan show on Sunday, Mr Carney warned rising house prices represented the biggest current risk to the economy.

In response, the Prime Minister has indicated he is open to rethinking Help To Buy.

Asked if he would look at reducing the programme's £600,000 threshold, Mr Cameron said: "Of course, we will consider any changes that are proposed by Mark Carney.

"But, as he said, this is a well-targeted scheme and it's helped tens of thousands of people get on the housing ladder and to have mortgages."

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Hunt For Killer On Run From Jail For Third Time

Police are hunting a convicted murderer who has gone on the run from prison for the third time.

Arnold Pickering, 44, and armed robber Thomas Moffett, 51, walked out of HMP Kennet in Liverpool at 9.30am on Saturday morning.

The pair were due back at around 4.40pm the same day. Their disappearance was reported to Merseyside Police at about 7pm.

Moffett was arrested around 9pm on Sunday in Blackburn, Lancashire, for being unlawfully at large.

But Pickering has not been found. He is serving a life sentence for stabbing a man to death in Oldham, Greater Manchester, in 1990.

He killed his 55-year-old victim, who was partially blind and deaf, while on the run from Strangeways in Manchester.

Moffett armed himself with a nail gun and robbed off-licences

Pickering last absconded in December 2009 when he was let out on day release from HMP Kirkham to work on the bins in Manchester city centre.

He handed himself in four days later in Motherwell, Scotland.

The killer is described as around 5ft 11in tall, medium build with blue eyes. He has tattoos on his arms and chest.

Moffett is serving an indeterminate sentence for a string of robberies carried out in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 2006.

He armed himself with a nail gun and then raided six off-licences.

The pair were risk assessed as suitable for temporary release on licence by the Ministry of Justice.

The disappearance comes just two weeks after armed robber Michael Wheatley, known as "Skullcracker", absconded from Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, while on temporary release.

Speaking about the latest case, Prisons Minister Jeremy Wright has said there would now be "major changes" brought in as a "matter of urgency".

"I am not prepared to see public safety compromised," he said.

"The system for allowing prisoners out on temporary licence has been too lax up till now and we are making major changes to address this.

"There will shortly be significant restrictions on who is granted temporary release - which from now on must be earnt - tightening up of monitoring arrangements and abolishing any leave without a clear link to rehabilitation."

Officers are appealing to anyone with information to call Merseyside Police on either 0151 777 3803 or 0151 777 3891, or via 101.

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Labour Wants To Link Minimum Wage To Earnings

Ed Miliband is to commit a Labour government to significantly increasing the national minimum wage over the course of the next Parliament by linking it to average earnings.

In a speech to party activists in the West Midlands, the Labour leader is expected to claim the measure will ensure the lowest-paid do not "left behind" again.

He will say the move to establish a clear link with average earnings will help build on the Labour government's achievements in introducing the minimum wage following Tony Blair's landslide 1997 general election victory.

Business groups are expected to criticise Mr Miliband's announcement

The announcement will be welcomed by those in the party who say Mr Miliband has yet to offer voters a positive vision of what they could expect from Labour government.

But the move is likely to face criticism from the business world and prompt claims it will harm competitiveness.

Mr Miliband will describe Labour's introduction of the minimum wage as "one of the proudest achievements of any British government", but that further action is now needed to raise its value.

"Britain is still one of the lowest paid countries among the world's advanced economies," he will say.

"So we have to go further, we have to write the next chapter in the history of Labour's battle to make work pay.

"That's why today, I am proud to announce that the next Labour government will take new radical action against low pay: a new five-year ambition to restore the link between doing a hard day's work and building a decent life for your family.

"A Labour government will establish a clear link between the level of the minimum wage and the scale of wages paid to other workers in our economy.

"We will say workers on the minimum wage must never be left behind because those who work hard to create our nation's wealth should share in it."

Details of the policy are expected to be scant in today's speech and low pay campaigners will want to see exactly how a Labour government would go about fulfilling its goal.

However, Mr Miliband will publish a report he commissioned from Alan Buckle, the former deputy chairman of KPMG International, with proposals to overhaul the Low Pay Commission.

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Huddersfield Stabbing: Probe As Woman Killed

Police have launched a murder probe after a woman was killed and four children injured in a stabbing attack.

Officers called to a domestic incident in Huddersfield found a 37-year-old woman with a "serious stab injury" and a nine-year-old boy outside the property with an injury to his arm.

The woman was taken to hospital after the attack on Sunday evening, but she later died.

The boy was also taken to hospital for treatment to his injury.

Another nine-year-old boy, a boy of 11 and a six-month-old baby girl, who were also at the address in Reinwood Road, were treated for minor injuries.

Det Chief Insp Ady Taylor said: "A 39-year-old man was detained at the scene and is being treated in hospital for serious injuries.

"We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.

"Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and Neighbourhood Policing Team officers are patrolling the area, offering support and reassurance to local residents."

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Pig Hearts For Humans 'A Step Closer'

By Gerard Tubb, Sky News Correspondent

Doctors have made a breakthrough in research that could lead to animal organs being transplanted into humans within the next 20 years, according to a leading British scientist.

Experiments in America have proved a pig's heart can be kept alive inside another animal for more than a year using a combination of genetic modification and new drugs.

In controversial research at the US national medical research agency NIH, a team led by Dr Muhammad Mohiuddin transplanted the hearts of genetically engineered pigs into the abdomens of baboons and kept one beating for 600 days.

Anne Higgs says she would accept a pig's heart

Dr Mohiuddin said his research will "instill a new ray of hope for thousands of patients waiting for human donor organs".

Professor Chris Mason, from the department of biochemical engineering at University College London, called the development a big breakthrough.

"It is very early, it is not in man and it's not even in the position of a heart, but it's a huge step forward," he said.

With around 1,000 patients dying in the UK while waiting for an organ transplant, Professor Mason welcomes the prospect of farming pigs to produce organs on demand.

"We are talking 10, 15 or more years away," he explained.

"This is early proof of the concept that shows that a pig heart can be transplanted into a non-human primate and not be rejected."

Heart attack victim Anne Higgs has been waiting for a heart transplant at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for four years and says she would have no qualms about accepting a pig's heart.

"It's another grasp at life," she said.

"Yes I would take it, I would run all the way to the Freeman with that little heart."

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Britain's Richest 1,000 People Now Worth £519bn

Billionaire Britain: Rise Of The Super-Rich

Updated: 7:07am UK, Sunday 11 May 2014

More than 100 billionaires are now living in Britain - the first time the milestone has been reached.

According to this year's Sunday Times Rich List, 104 billionaires with a combined wealth of more than £300bn are now based in the UK - more than triple the number from a decade ago.

Britain has more billionaires per head of population than any other country, while London has more than any other city with 72.

Top of the list are the Indian-born brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja, who have an £11.9bn fortune.

The pair run the global conglomerate Hinduja Group and saw their wealth increase by £1.3bn in the last year.

In second place is Russian business magnate and Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov, who fell from the top spot after his fortune decreased to £10.65bn.

The richest Briton is the Duke of Westminster, who is 10th on the list with a fortune of £8.5bn.

Chris Dawson, who owns The Range discount store chain, saw his wealth rise by £695m in the last year to £1.28bn.

Jon Hunt, the founder of estate agents Foxtons, has a fortune of £1.07bn, a rise of £145m from 2013.

Mike Ashley, the founder of Sports Direct, and Virgin businessman Sir Richard Branson are also among the wealthiest 25 billionaires.

Ten years ago, a fortune of £700m was required to be among Britain's 50 wealthiest people.

Now it is £1.7bn - the first time since 2008 the minimum wealth of the top 50 has been more than £1.5bn.

The combined fortune of Britain's richest is now ahead of pre-recession levels of 2008.

Last year there were 88 billionaires, worth a total of more than £245bn.

A decade ago the number was 30, with a combined fortune of £65bn.

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Carney: 'House Prices Biggest Risk To Economy'

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

The British housing market has "deep, deep" problems, according to the Governor of the Bank of England.

In an interview with Sky's Murnaghan show to be broadcast in full later this morning, Mark Carney warns that rising house prices represents the biggest current risk to the economy.

And the number of large mortgages being approved to house buyers is on the rise, he adds.

Mr Carney says that the UK is in need of new house building.

He says that compared to his home country of Canada, for example, the UK built half the number of new homes every year despite having twice the population. 

Canada builds around 200,000 new homes a year compared to just 133,000 similar properties that were built in the UK last year.

Mr Carney said: "The issue around the housing market in the UK … is there are not sufficient (numbers of) houses (being) built."

Mark Carney has issued a warning over the UK housing market

Asked if more houses need to be built, Mr Carney replied: "That would help us out.

"We're not going to build a single house at the Bank of England. We can't influence that.

"What we can influence … is whether the banks are strong enough. Do they have enough capital against risk in the housing market?"

Mr Carney said they could also check lending procedures "so people can get mortgages if they can afford them but they won't if they can't".

"By reinforcing both of those we can reduce the risk that comes from a housing market that has deep, deep structural problems," he added.

Mr Carney said there was evidence that large mortgages, where lenders approve loans of more than four times people's salaries, are on the rise again.

"We don't want to build up another big debt overhang that is going to hurt individuals and is very much going to slow the economy in the medium term," he said.

"We'd be concerned if there was a rapid increase in high loan-to-value mortgages across the banks. We've seen that creeping up and it's something we're watching closely."

In an separate interview for Murnaghan David Cameron admitted the Government needed to build more houses and said Mr Carney was "absolutely right".

However, he added: "The building of houses is going up. If you talk to any housing developer at the moment or builder they will tell you that the help to buy scheme the Government has put in place has been hugely helpful in bringing forward more development or house building.

"We are training apprentices in the building trade to make sure that we can deliver on these houses but we do need more, yes."

Last week, Mr Carney surprised many by playing down the chances of an imminent rise in interest rates despite fears of a growing house price bubble.

But he admitted the issue was the biggest current threat to the economy.

"The biggest risk to financial stability, and therefore to the durability of the expansion, centres on the housing market and that's why we're focused on that," he said.

Prices are currently rising at more than 10% a year across the country.

Analysis by Sky News has shown the number of £1m properties has doubled since 2008.

Earlier this month, the OECD think tank called on the Bank of England to impose measures to help quell rising house prices.

Both the coalition and Labour are committed to building hundreds of thousands of new homes.

However, construction still lags behind Government targets.

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