Human Remains Are Missing Student Hannah Graham

Police say remains found in a dried-up creek in rural Virginia are those of British-born student Hannah Graham.

A skull and bones were discovered in a heavily wooded area five weeks after the 18-year-old vanished in Charlottesville, a college town about 100 miles southwest of Washington DC.

Her parents, John and Sue Graham, said in a statement: "When we started this journey together we all hoped for a happier ending.

"Sadly that was not to be. We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful daughter.

"Although we have lost our precious Hannah, the light she radiated can never be extinguished."

The University of Virginia student, who moved from Britain to the US when she was five, vanished on September 13 after a night out with friends.

Matthew was the last person to be seen with Hannah, police said

She left an off-campus party alone and then texted a friend saying she was lost, police said.

In CCTV footage, she was seen walking and running unsteadily past a pub and a service station and then on to a block of bars, restaurants and shops.

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1. Gallery: Hannah Graham Search In Rural Area

   Police are scouring the area where remains that might belong to missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham were found

2. The Albemarle County area is home to horse farms

3. Officers sifted through autumn leaves in the heavily wooded area looking for clues

4. Police have blocked off roads

5. Forensic experts must examine the remains

6. Ms Graham, who is British-born, was last seen on 13 September

7. Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr, 32, has been charged with abduction

Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr, 32, the last person seen with her, has been charged with abduction with intent to defile her.

The area where her remains were found is six miles (10km) from where 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington's body was found after she vanished in 2009.

Police said forensic evidence connects Matthew to Ms Harrington's killing.

DNA also allegedly links him to a sexual assault in northern Virginia in 2005.

On Monday, he was indicted with rape and attempted murder over that case.

Matthew, who weighs 270 pounds (122kg), was an operating room technician at the university's hospital.

Friends said they were shocked the "gentle giant" could be suspected of murder.

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Schools Urged To Give Body Confidence Lessons

By Enda Brady, Sky News Correspondent

Schools are being urged to hold lessons in body confidence as a new survey reveals that one in four Britons is depressed by their appearance.

A new project called Be Real aims to tackle the issue which campaigners say is trapping millions of people in the UK in an unhealthy cycle of depression, short-term dieting, cosmetic intervention and eating disorders.

"Low body confidence is a critical public health issue that we cannot ignore," said Caroline Nokes MP, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Body Image.

"It affects everyone - all ages, both sexes - and starts as young as five years old.

Health campaigners say Britain is facing an obesity crisis

"Be Real wants to change attitudes to body image, and help all of us, whatever our size, ethnicity or ability, to put health above appearance and be confident with how we look and feel."

Ms Nokes visited Therfield School in Leatherhead, Surrey, and spoke to Year 8 pupils as part of her work to raise awareness of the issue.

Video: 'Radical' Plan Unveiled To Save NHS

"Through this campaign, we're driving change through three priority areas," she said.

"We want to ensure children and young people are educated about body confidence from an early age, to promote healthy living and wellbeing over weight loss and appearance."

She said Be Real also wanted to "encourage the media, business and advertisers to recognise diversity and positively reflect what we really look like".

Video: Losing 3% Of Weight 'Achievable'

A survey of 2,000 adults across the UK found 26% were "depressed" by how they look, while 28% said they refused to exercise because of body anxiety and 20% skipped meals to lose weight.

More than one in seven people have considered cosmetic interventions and almost a fifth of 18 to 24-year-olds are currently taking muscle building supplements to improve their physique.

"Too often the way we look becomes a measure of who we are and there is a growing pressure to achieve an aesthetic ideal that few of us can live up to," said Denise Hatton, chief executive of youth charity YMCA England.

Video: NHS-Funded Classes To Fight Fat?

"When we feel bad about how we look, we make bad choices about our health and are stopped from achieving our full potential.

"We are seeing this amongst young people, both boys and girls, across the country and urgently need to help them become confident about who they are and what they look like."

YMCA youth ambassador Kelsey Hibberd, who helps young people in Southend, Essex, was bullied in her teens and says she would be "thrilled" if body confidence lessons were offered in schools.

Video: 'Sinister' Body Image Culture

"It would mean that young people are learning really valuable life lessons and are not just being judged on grades," she told Sky News Online.

"Your body is just a shell, it's not a measure of you, your intelligence, your morals or your values. I'd be thrilled if these lessons went nationwide into every school in Britain."

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E-Cig Ban Poses Smoking Danger, Says Expert

By Katie Spencer, Sky News Reporter

Growing calls for e-cigarettes to be banned in public risk sending smokers back to tobacco, an industry expert has told Sky News.

Michael Clapper, chairman of the Electronic Cigarette Industry Trade Association, has warned that companies which are introducing bans are being "short sighted".

"There's a very real danger that you're going to send a lot of those people back to smoking," he said.

"We've got an NHS waiting list building up again thanks to smoking related illnesses and as far as businesses are concerned its short sighted of them because we know the science says they don't harm other people."

It's estimated there are two million e-cigarette users in the UK but increasingly public venues are now banning their use - from coffee shops like Starbucks through to pubs chains like All Bar One.

Video: Calls For E-Cigarette Indoor Ban

The public is largely supportive of the move. A recent poll by YouGov and The Sunday Times found 60% of people wanted bans in all public buildings.

While the smoke they produce may be an unsettling sight for non-smokers, the vapour given off is largely water.

Leading experts say the concentrations of carcinogens e-cigarettes contain aren't anywhere near as toxic as smoking and any toxins produced are too low to pose a significant health risk to others.

Shirley Cramer, from the Royal Society for Public Health, says it's easy to understand why some companies want stronger controls.

Video: Confusion Over E-Cigarette Safety

"Now, what we're seeing is this precautionary principle," she told Sky News.

"Employers and people in transport are taking the line 'we banned tobacco, we're going to ban vaping because we don't know enough'.

"There will be more evidence [of their long-term effects] eventually but it's very interesting because if you've already banned it, would you un-ban it?"

The Vape Lab in London's Shoreditch is one venue where users are being encouraged to smoke e-cigarettes.

Video: US To Regulate E-Cigarettes

Pierre Durand, one of the coffee shop's founders insists, rather than ban e-cigarettes in public, it's non-smokers who need to learn more.

"There are many people that need to be educated because since it's a disruptive technology there's not much knowledge and people don't know everything they should know," he said.

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Sir Cliff Raid Caused 'Irreparable Damage'

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

A highly-publicised raid on the home of singer Sir Cliff Richard was "inept" and caused "irreparable damage" to his reputation, according to an influential group of MPs.

South Yorkshire Police, which has faced severe criticism in recent weeks over its handling of the Rotherham abuse scandal, worked exclusively with the BBC to broadcast live footage of officers searching Sir Cliff's home in Berkshire last August.

The force agreed to allow BBC News both to name the 74-year-old star and to broadcast the search operation, despite the fact the singer had not been questioned, arrested, or charged with any offence.

South Yorkshire's Chief Constable told the Home Affairs Select Committee his force had decided to work with the Corporation because BBC reporter Dan Johnson had been aware of the investigation. 

Police raided Sir Cliff's home in this complex in Sunningdale, Berkshire

Officers feared the broadcaster would potentially compromise the inquiry by revealing details of the probe prematurely.

In its report, the Home Affairs Select Committee said the police force should have refused to cooperate and explained to senior BBC News executives why broadcasting the story could have prejudiced the investigation.

Video: Police And BBC Clash Over Sir Cliff

Although the search operation was big news, Sir Cliff said he had only found out about it when the media contacted him for comment. 

He said he had been forced to watch the search live on television from his holiday home on the Algarve.

Home Affairs Committee chair Keith Vaz said: "South Yorkshire Police's handling of this situation was utterly inept.

"The force allowed itself to hand over sensitive information to a journalist and granted him privileged access to the execution of a search warrant."

Officers searched the star's home after receiving an allegation of a sexual nature dating back to the 1980s involving a boy who was under the age of 16.

A BBC News crew was outside the gated development in Sunningdale, where Sir Cliff has a penthouse apartment, before police arrived.

The group of MPs said it found "nothing wrong" with the BBC decision to run the story given that it had information about the investigation, as well as the timing and location of the search.

But lawyers acting for Sir Cliff released a statement disputing the BBC's claim that the select committee report had confirmed the Corporation had "behaved perfectly properly".

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1. Gallery: Sir Cliff's Life And Career

   Sir Cliff Richard was born Harry Rodger Webb in India in October 1940

2. His family returned to England in 1948 and settled in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire

3. He received his first guitar for his 16th birthday and formed the band The Drifters, who later changed their name to The Shadows

4. Webb changed his name to Cliff Richard and became one of the country's biggest musical stars, also appearing in several films

5. In 1964 he became a born-again Christian and considered leaving music altogether but was persuaded by friends to continue his career

6. He twice competed at the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing runner-up in 1968 and third in 1973

7. His 1979 hit We Don't Talk Anymore revived his career, and he went on to enjoy regular success in the charts and musical theatre throughout the 1980s

8. In 1995 he became the first pop musician to be knighted

9. In 1996 during a rain break at the Wimbledon tennis championships he famously led the Centre Court crowd in a spontaneous sing-along

10. In 1999 he released The Millennium Prayer on an independent label after EMI said it did not have commercial potential. It spent three weeks at number one, becoming his 14th number one

11. He remains hugely popular in Commonwealth countries and Europe, but only ever achieved limited success in America

12. He marked his 70th birthday in 2010 with a run of six concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, and two years later sang at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert and carried the London 2012 Olympic torch

13. He has sold more UK singles than any other artist (over 21 million) and had number one hits in five decades - 1950s-1990s

14. Only Elvis Presley and the Beatles have spent longer at number one in the British singles chart

A spokesman for law firm Michael Simkins said: "Leaving aside the actions of the police, the actions of the BBC have caused very serious harm to our client at a time when he had not been interviewed by the police, or of course arrested or charged."

South Yorkshire Police told MPs that reporter Dan Johnson had claimed the tip-off about the investigation came from Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree, the investigation into allegations against Jimmy Savile and others.

Mr Johnson denies making any such claim.

Scotland Yard said: "To date, the Metropolitan Police Service has found no evidence to substantiate the damaging and we believe, unfounded allegation that Operation Yewtree was the source of leaked information to the BBC regarding South Yorkshire Police's investigation."

Recent reports suggest Sir Cliff Richard is now considering selling his multi-million pound home, which he only bought six years ago.

In its report, the Home Affairs Select Committee said: "We can understand his feelings ... no citizen should have to watch on live television their home being raided in this way."

The MPs also highlighted the "enormous, irreparable damage" suffered by Sir Cliff, given he has not been arrested or charged.

South Yorkshire police said: "Whilst we believe our actions were within policy and were well intended, they were ultimately flawed and we regret the additional anxiety which was caused to Sir Cliff Richard."

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Briton Dies During Bangkok Cosmetic Surgery

A British woman has died while having cosmetic surgery in Thailand, according to officials.

The English woman, who has not been named but is aged in her 20s, died while under anaesthesia during a corrective procedure at a Bangkok clinic.

Police were called to the scene around 11pm Thursday and said the woman had died on the operating table.

She had gone to the surgery to have her tailbone area corrected. It was the second treatment she had at the clinic. 

It is understood the doctor who performed the surgery did not have the correct certification.

The doctor has been arrested and charged with causing reckless death and the clinic's owner Doctor Somphop Saensiri, 51, is being questioned by police.


A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We were informed of the death of a British national in Thailand on the 23 October. We stand ready to provide consular assistance."

Thailand is one of many countries offering cut-price cosmetic surgery but it has seen botched operations in the past.

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Economy: Third Quarter Growth Slows To 0.7%

UK economic growth slowed in the third quarter of the year, according to the first official estimate of GDP for the period.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) measured GDP growth of 0.7% in the period, down from output growth of 0.9% in the previous three months.

It charted a slowdown in manufacturing, saying expansion - at 0.3% - was its weakest for 18 months amid concerns for the world economy and the euro area in particular - the country's biggest trading partner.

The service sector, which accounts for more than 75% of the country's total output, showed growth of 0.7% during the three months to September - down from 1.1% in the previous quarter.

It meant, the ONS said, that annual growth was 3%, down from 3.2%, though total economic output was 3.4% bigger than its pre-crisis peak in 2008.

All the figures are subject to revision but the status quo still leaves manufacturing 4.1% behind and construction 8.2% short of their peaks.

Construction output grew 0.8% in the third quarter.

The performance was widely expected by economists, given forecasts suggesting the eurozone may slip back into recession.

The data for the service sector suggests businesses will be more wary about spending while consumers remain hit by weak wage rises.

The Chancellor George Osborne said: "Today's strong growth figures show that the UK continues to lead the pack in an increasingly uncertain global economy.

"With all the main sectors of the economy growing, it's clear that our recovery is broadly based.

"But the UK is not immune to weakness in the euro area and instability in global markets, so we face a critical moment for our economy.

"If we want to avoid a return to the chaos and instability of the past, then we need to carry on working through our economic plan that is delivering stability and security."

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Eight Headaches For Supermarket Giant Tesco

A decade ago Tesco was an investor's delight, with a share price shooting up more than 70% between 2004 and 2007, and healthy dividend payments. So what went wrong?

PROFIT WARNINGS

With 14 years as CEO to his credit, Sir Terry Leahy stepped down in 2011 after overseeing a leap in pre-tax profit from £750m in 1997 to £3.4bn in 2010. Yet less than a year into the job as new CEO, Philip Clarke issued the first profit warning in two decades as a result of a poor 2011 Christmas trading period.

CHANGING TASTES

Tesco was being squeezed by changing consumer tastes, a dislike of its cavernous and cold stores, and complaints about frosty customer service. It unveiled a £1bn revamp plan in April 2012.

AMERICAN ADVENTURE

In April 2013 it reported its first fall in annual profit for 19 years, with a post-tax profit plunging 95% to £120m, after suffering a £1.2bn charge to exit its struggling Fresh & Easy American venture.

PROPERTY BUST

It also suffered a write-down of £804m for land bought at the height of the property boom, earmarked for development but subsequently put on hold.

MEAT SCANDAL

Last year, Tesco was caught up in the biggest food fraud of the century - with some of its beef burgers found to contain up to 29% horsemeat.

Video: Tesco Investigating Profits Mistake

CLEVER COMPETITION

German discounters continue to nibble away at Tesco's customer base at one end, while M&S and Waitrose take share from consumers willing to pay more for premium products.

BIG NOT NIMBLE

Despite the woes Tesco remains the country's biggest retailer and still dwarfs its competition. Tesco is around the same size as Sainsbury's and Morrisons combined, and globally employs more than half a million people in 12 countries. But big rarely means nimble. A large number of senior staff have quit the company in recent years and 40-year Tesco veteran Mr Clarke was ousted by the board last July, after dismissing critics of his turnaround plans.

SIDELINES

Tesco wholly-owns a retail research company named dunnhumby, with offshoots including BzzAgent, KSS Retail, and Sociomantic - which sells display adverts on Facebook and mobiles.

This analysis arm crunches data from over 350 million consumers in 28 countries and sells it to corporate giants such as Coca-Cola, Shell and Procter & Gamble. The Tesco empire is huge, with numerous and competing divisions, and as a result does not always see the wood for the trees.

Dunnhumby does not trumpet the Tesco parentage on its website - but maybe it is time Tesco starts looking in-house for an answer to its woes.

Video: Tesco Profit Error: Execs Suspended

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Boy And Man Killed In 'Suspicious' House Fire

Police say a house fire that killed a nine-year-old boy and a 44-year-old man was "suspicious" - but that they are not looking for anyone else over the blaze.

Another boy, aged 11, is in a critical condition in hospital after the fire in Penistone, South Yorkshire.

One man living nearby said neighbours came out to find the house ablaze and firefighters arriving at the home, adding that the scene was "horrific".

The modern semi-detached property remained cordoned off and guarded by police, with the quiet cul-de-sac closed to traffic.

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said emergency services were called at 6.30pm on Wednesday, and the three were taken to hospital, where the man and younger boy were confirmed dead.

He said the 11-year-old had "life-threatening" injuries.

"Our thoughts are with the family of those involved in this tragic incident," he added.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire.

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Tesco Profits Plunge 92% In Accounting Chaos

Tesco chairman Sir Richard Broadbent is to quit as an inquiry into its accounting practices reveals a £263m profit overstatement, resulting in a 92% fall in first-half profits.

The supermarket chain said an internal investigation by Deloitte into its procedures had found historic failures in its UK food business.

It had suggested in September that the error was a one-off but said today the overstatement figure reflected previous reporting periods too.

Its share price fell 7% when the FTSE 100 opened for business in the wake of the statement but later eased back though a wider sell-off of supermarket stock saw £1bn wiped off the value of Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons combined.

Eight senior executives had been suspended pending the outcome of the inquiry, which examined how Tesco logged suppliers' rebates and if they were reported in the correct accounting period.

Phillip Clarke was sacked as chief executive

Tesco said there was no evidence anyone at Tesco had sought to gain personally but the findings raise questions about the leadership of former chief executive Philip Clarke, who stepped down in the summer before the accounting issues were made public.

Tesco said his pay-off - and that of former finance chief Laurie McIlwee - was being delayed until such time as inquiries were complete.

Sir Richard said his decision to stand down reflected "the important principle of accountability."

The business, which has been battling hard discounters and strong competition from other major chains, made the announcements as it confirmed the effect on its current half-year results.

Pre-tax profits fell 92% to £112m while UK trading profit was down 55.9% to £499m.

UK like-for-like sales were 4.6% lower - slightly better than expected.

Chief executive Dave Lewis said: "We know that we have got a lot of work to do.

Video: Waitrose Wins As Tesco Struggles

"We know what it is we need to do to turn the business around".

Tesco's share price has plunged more than 50% in the past 12 months as its dominance in the UK's grocery sector was eaten away by rivals.

It had previously admitted taking its eye off the ball while hunting growth overseas though its big investment in America fell flat.

The results statement said: "We have three immediate priorities. The first is restoring competitiveness in our core UK business.

The second is protecting and strengthening our balance sheet. The third is to begin the long journey of rebuilding trust and transparency in the business and the brand."

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GPs To Pocket £55 For Dementia Diagnosis

Plans to pay GPs a £55 bonus when they make a dementia diagnosis have been condemned as an "ethical travesty".

NHS England confirmed family doctors would receive the cash under a new scheme to ensure sufferers are identified early and given tailored care.

But Dr Iona Heath, ex-president of the Royal College of GPs, told the medical magazine Pulse: "I think the proposal is an intellectual and ethical travesty."

Health experts believe that just under half of the people living with dementia are not being diagnosed.

Under the scheme, GPs will get the cash for every additional dementia diagnosis they make over the next six months.

Video: Sept: Cost Of Dementia Care Soars

Dr Martin McShane, NHS England national director for long-term conditions, said: "Dementia can be devastating both for individuals and their families.

"We know that more needs to be done across the health service to ensure that people living with dementia are identified so that they can get the tailored care and support they need.

"This additional investment is part of a drive to ensure this."

Health chiefs have identified a gap of about 90,000 patients, an average of 12 per practice, who could benefit from a more timely diagnosis.

However, the Patients Association say the scheme is "a distortion of good medical practice".

Chief executive Katherine Murphy said: "We know GPs receive incentive payments to find all sorts of conditions, such as high cholesterol, raised blood pressure and diabetes - but this seems a step too far. It is putting a bounty on the head of certain patients.

"Good GPs will be diagnosing their dementia patients already. This seems to be rewarding poor GPs.

"There is an issue of people presenting late with dementia to doctors, but this is not the right way to go about tackling that.

"If people were given hope that something could be done, that would be the greatest incentive for coming early."

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Homebase: A Quarter Of Stores To Be Closed

The owner of the DIY chain Homebase is to close a quarter of its stores over the next three years, leaving thousands of jobs hanging in the balance.

Home Retail Group (HRG), which made the announcement as it confirmed its half-year results, said it planned to shut 25% of its 323 stores by 2018 through scheduled lease expirations and sales.

It said a review of the business had found Homebase was saddled with "inconsistent store operating standards" as well as "a large estate with low sales densities that result in a challenged financial model."

The chain, which currently employs 17,000 people, is to lose its managing director Paul Loft in the wake of the findings.

A spokesperson told Sky News: "HRG has announced a three-year plan for Homebase to revitalise the business for the future.

Argos, also owned by HRG, was already getting a digital makeover

"Part of the plan will be to right-size the store estate through scheduled lease expiries and a series of sales to other retailers.

"Once they are identified, our colleagues will be the first to be informed about any of the affected stores, and where possible we will redeploy colleagues to other stores within the Group, or encourage retailers buying our leases to offer roles within their businesses locally".

The transformation to a greater digital offering was confirmed against a backdrop of rising sales at Homebase.

Home Retail said group underlying first-half profit rose 13%, particularly reflecting sales growth at Argos.

Profit before tax reached £30.9m in the six months to 30 August though its full-year result would depend on Argos' Christmas trading, HRG said.

Argos has itself undergone a turnaround, with Home Retail moving away from its traditional catalogue store offering towards digital click & collect.

Argos saw sales from mobile and tablet devices rise by 45%.

Homebase like-for-like sales grew by 4.1% over the six-month period while its improved website helped multi-channel sales rise 12%.

John Walden, chief executive of HRG, said "Homebase is a good business with the basis for future growth.

"In this context, Homebase will pursue a three-year plan through to the end of 2018 to improve the productivity of its store estate, strengthen its propositions and accelerate its digital capabilities by leveraging Argos' investments.

"This will position Homebase as a smaller but stronger business, ready for investment and growth."

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Bedfordshire Woman Arrested On Terror Charges

A woman has been arrested in Bedfordshire on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts in connection with Syria.

Counter-terrorism officers took the 25-year-old into custody on Wednesday morning.

She has been taken to a central London police station.

Two properties in Bedfordshire have been searched.

The arrest is the latest in a string of raids on people living in the UK suspected of terror offences linked to the Syrian conflict.

Around 500 Britons are estimated to have travelled to Syria to fight.

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Terminally Ill To Be Offered Experimental Drugs

By Michelle Clifford, Senior News Correspondent

A new law allowing dying patients to be treated with 'untested' medicines has received Government backing and could be in force as early as next year.

The Medical Innovation Bill - proposed by Conservative Peer Lord Saatchi whose wife died from cancer - would give legal protection to doctors who try out different procedures once they have exhausted established options.

Brian Woods, who lost his sister to cancer and whose wife has been battling the disease for over a decade, told Sky News the move makes sense.

"Everytime a new drug or a new combination of drugs is tested then whether they work or not science moves on," he said.

"So obviously for the patient involved the hope is they do work and their life can be extended or their cancer cured. But the fact is even it that doesn't happen doctors have learned something".

Lord Saatchi says every cancer death is "wasted"

That is a view shared by Lord Saatchi, who has called every cancer death "wasted" because scientific knowledge was not advanced as patients have only received the standard treatments.

What he called "the endless repetition of a failed experiment".

But many patient advocates insist his bill would amount to a "quack's charter", unleashing potentially dangerous experiments on terminally ill people.

Peter Walsh, chief executive of Action Against Medical Accidents, said: "When people are vunerable they are going to have ideas put in front of them from doctors who may have good intentions but may want to experiment in perhaps a dangerous way on patients or even have a maverick appraoch to medicine."

Currently all medicines approved for use in Britain must undergo rigorous clinical trials before they can be licensed for use.

Even products which are still in development require a licence before they can be tested on humans.

Under the proposed bill doctors could prescribe patients with experimental treatments with no human trials. Recently an ebola treatment, Zmapp, which had only been tested on monkeys, was used in just this way.

If the bill is successful it could allow terminally ill people to volunteer to be treated with untried drugs.

Supporters say that will bypass the need for years of clinical trials, bring down the cost of the medicine and make pharmaceutical companies more likely to fund experimental drugs which may only be of use to a small number of patients with rare diseases.

Sir Michael Rawlins, former chair of The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), was initially sceptical but has been persuaded of the bills' merits now greater safeguards have been built in.

Doctors will need to get second opinions from specialists in the field before proceeding with experimental treatments.

He told Sky News: "Doctors are quite clearly inhibited in this area at the present and we know from recent and long past history that trying things out has sometimes produced wonderful, wonderful results." 

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Land Girls To Attend War Effort Tribute

By Hind Hassan, Sky News Reporter

Hundreds of former Land Girls are expected to attend the unveiling of a tribute to their work during the First and Second World Wars.

A life-sized bronze sculpture will be revealed at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire today.

It honours members of the Women's Land Army (WLA) who worked on farms during the First and Second World Wars when conscription and military casualties led to a shortage of labourers.

James Shallcross is the assistant curator at the National Memorial Arboretum and told Sky News it was important to recognise the role Land Girls played during and after the two wars.

"The Women's Land Army was a major part of the effort to help the country in a time of conflict," he said.

The sculpture is set to be unveiled in Staffordshire

"Without their help the nation would probably have starved and may well have not won the Second World War."

The memorial also honours Lumber Jills, the women who worked in forestry during the Second World War as part of the Women's Timber Corps.

The sculpture depicts a Lumber Jill linking arms with the Land Girl who is holding a pitchfork.

Mary Wright, 84, joined the WLA when she was 17, two years after the end of the Second World War.

"It was very physically demanding, but you were doing something for the country," she said.

"They needed women on the farms because there weren't enough labourers to do the work."

The sculpture was created by Denise Dutton and will be unveiled by HRH the Countess of Wessex.

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Hurricane Gonzalo Alert Cancels UK Flights

Thousands of passengers are facing travel disruption after Heathrow cancelled 10% of its flights due to storms caused by the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo.

A yellow weather warning is in place across most of the UK as the storm system that battered Bermuda concludes its journey across the Atlantic.

Heathrow said 10% of flights with its biggest 20 carriers would be cancelled due to high winds.

Weather in Perth. Pic: Ashleigh Jolly

"We do not know exactly how many passengers or flights that will have an impact on, although the cancellations are only expected for Tuesday," a Heathrow spokesman said.

Gusts of more than 55mph are likely inland, but could reach 60 or 70mph in coastal areas.

Video: Bermuda Clears Up After Hurricane

Northern Scotland will have the highest winds - up to 80mph on the coast.

The Met Office said: "The public should be aware of the potential for disruption to travel and possible damage to trees.

"Difficult driving conditions will result, perhaps exacerbated by surface water and spray in places."

The strongest winds will coincide with the morning rush hour in places.

Virgin Trains also warned that heavy rain might affect services on Tuesday.

A spokesman said anyone planning to travel should check before setting off. Customers with tickets for Tuesday would be able to travel on Wednesday if they preferred.

Hurricane Gonzalo - which at its peak sustained winds of 110mph - caused severe damage and a power blackout when it hit Bermuda at the end of last week.

Royal Navy ship HMS Argyll, with a crew of 180, has arrived at the British territory to help with the relief effort if needed.

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Britain On Brink Of Lasting Divide, Says Tsar

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

The Government's social mobility tsar has told Sky News that Britain is "on the brink of becoming a permanently divided nation" with millions facing low wages and young people locked out of the housing market.

Alan Milburn criticised the Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems for failing to tackle the problem and called on them all to take urgent action to change their agendas.

"Look at the jobs market, five million people now earning less than the living wage. Look at the housing market, the rate of home ownership among young people having halved over the last 20 years. Look what has happened to professional employment too, many interns not being paid - we think that should be banned once and for all," he said.

Tsar Alan Milburn warns of a generation with poor prospects

Mr Milburn, who chairs the Government's Social Mobility Commission that will today publish its second State of the Nation report, warned: "The risk is that this generation of young people ends up having far worse prospects to progress than their parents' generation."

The call for an end to unpaid internships, seen to give an unfair advantage to young people with family connections and financial backing, will be among a list of recommendations.

Video: Clegg: Young People Should Vote

It comes as a study by another group, the Social Integration Commission, suggests Britain's lack of social integration is costing the economy up to £6bn.

Chaired by Matthew Taylor, the commission warns of a future in which gated communities are the norm, schools are riven with division and fear of crime is on the rise.

Mr Taylor, who is chief executive of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and a former aide to Tony Blair, said the group were ringing an "early alarm bell" on the levels of segregation in society - and its impact.

Video: Young Jobless Face Benefit Cuts

The researchers have shown that across Britain people do not fall in love with or form friendships across ethnic and social divides at anything like the rate they would if race and class were irrelevant.

The biggest single divide is between the professionals and executives in the highest socioeconomic group and the unemployed and casual labourers in the lowest.

These divisions could cost up to 0.5% of the UK's total GDP, according to today's conclusions. The costs include unemployment and productivity, with the study pointing out that a large proportion of jobs are obtained through networks.

Video: Wages Fall As Economy Grows

Mr Taylor said: "Unless we pull down the barriers that can divide us, ethnic and social divisions in our schools could grow, gated communities could become the norm, and widespread distrust and fear of crime could rise.

"This is not a UK that is currently recognisable, but the seeds of its existence are being sown."

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Comparison Sites Under Fire Over 'Kickbacks'

Price comparison websites have been accused of hiding the best energy deals from consumers.

Instead, tariffs are promoted from providers who are paying the sites around £50 commission when a user switches, according to consumer group The Big Deal.

It claimed CompareTheMarket, uSwitch, Confused.com, GoCompare and MoneySuperMarket use search options that filter out the best non-commission offers.

The Big Deal, which uses an alternative of collective bargaining to negotiate with providers, said some websites have option boxes such as switch "now" or "today", showing only providers that pay commission.

The group's Will Hodson told Sky News: "We're calling on the competition authorities to crackdown on this kickback culture."

"The claim that they are consumer champions has to be challenged - these guys put commission first and consumers second."

It said better switching offers are available that can save consumers up to £200 a year.

The websites said their services were transparent, operating within existing guidelines and saving consumers money.

Uswitch's Ann Robinson told Sky: "The people who use our site save an average £200, and 10% of our users save over £300."

MoneySuperMarket said filter results were "not a loophole" and CompareTheMarket added that "suppliers sometimes stipulate which tariffs they wish to sell on price comparison websites".

Confused.com added that it was "committed to transparency in everything we do".

The energy watchdog Ofgem said it was considering a regulation overhaul of the sector.

In January, the boss of Co-operative Energy told Sky News comparision websites were misleading customers and pushing up energy bills.

Profits for the so-called big five comparison sites have climbed 400% since 2005, reaching a combined total of £170m last year.

The Big Deal said it has written to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over the hidden cost claims of the comparison firms.

The CMA is currently investigating the energy market over concerns of tariff and previously said the big energy providers could be split up, separating retail arms from their supply divisions.

The big six providers currently supply around 92% of all consumers - down from 99% five years ago - according to recent estimates.

Energy costs for consumers have more than doubled in the last decade, despite falling inflation and a squeeze on wages since the financial crash.

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Major Fire Rips Through Didcot Power Station

Firefighters are investigating the cause of a major blaze that took hold of Didcot Power Station last night.

The fire began in one of the gas-fired cooling stations and was described by Oxfordshire Fire And Rescue as "very serious".

Twelve fire engines, 65 firefighters and three hydraulic platforms were sent to the site around 8pm.

The fire was contained within the station cooling tower module

Officials at the RWE npower owned site managed to shut down the site quickly to stop the incident turning into an inferno.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey insisted electricity supplies would not be affected and that engineers would work to get the site up and running as soon as possible.

1/6

1. Gallery: Major Fire At Didcot Power Station

   A major fire broke out at the Didcot Power Station in Oxfordshire about 8pm on Sunday. Pic: Jess Collins

2. The blaze - described by Oxfordshire Fire And Rescue as "very serious" - began in one of the gas-fired cooling stations. Pic: @markydavidb

3. Twelve fire engines, 65 firefighters and three hydraulic platforms were dispatched. Pic: Zainab Mirmalek

4. The scale of the damage became apparent by the morning.

5. Firefighters are now working to establish the cause of the blaze.

"My priority is to understand the cause of the fire and get the affected unit back generating electricity as soon as it's safe to do so," he said.

Oxfordshire's chief fire officer, David Etheridge, said his team were hampered by high winds before bringing the blaze under control.

"It was a very serious fire. Our crews have been working very hard in very difficult conditions," he told Sky News.

"These fires are always very tricky for us. Water and electricity don't mix but we've worked with the site management on plans and we do exercises to make sure that when we do get an incident such as this we can all work seamlessly together to get it under control."

Video: Resident Describes 'Massive Blaze'

Thames Valley Police advised residents to close windows and remain indoors.

Site operators RWE Generation told Sky News no one had been injured. Spokesman Dan Meredith said: "We have taken the precaution to shut down safely the station and all our employees are accounted for."

He said the the fire was contained within the cooling tower module - there are a number of modules that form part of the site.

Mr Meredith added that an inquiry would be launched into how a blaze was allowed to begin in Station B, which opened in 1997 and can power millions of homes.

Video: Power Station Shut Down Amid Blaze

Zainab Mirmalek, who lives opposite the power station, said: "About 9pm you could see a massive blaze but now you can see loads of hoses, lots of steam and smoke and water gushing, though there is still lots of orange."

Natural gas powered Didcot B, which opened in 1997, generates up to 1,360 MWe of electricity - enough to power a million homes.

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