Derby House Fire: Man Charged With Murder

A 45-year-old man has been charged with the murder of six siblings who died as a result of a Derby house fire in May.

Paul Mosley, also of Derby, is accused of murdering Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, Jayden, five, and 13-year-old Duwayne, Derbyshire Police said.

He will appear before Derby Magistrates Court later.

Another man, 49, arrested earlier on Monday, has been released without charge.

The children died after the blaze engulfed their home in Victory Road in the Allenton area of the city on May 11.

Their parents, Mick Philpott, 55, and his 31-year-old wife Mairead, have also been charged with their murders.

They are next due in court for a plea and case management hearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday.

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Missing Atiya: Mother's Plea for Information

The mother of a missing girl abducted by her father says she prays her "little bundle of joy" is safe and well, after being taken to Pakistan without her knowledge.

Gemma Wilkinson, 32, from Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, said not knowing whether five-year-old Atiya is even alive is an "absolute nightmare".

Atiya vanished in November 2009 after going to stay with her father, Razwan Ali Anjum.

The former insurance salesman said he was taking the girl to Southport. Instead he took her to Lahore, Pakistan, and told Ms Wilkinson she was "never going to see Atiya again", courts have heard.

Anjum, who is in his late 20s, returned to the UK shortly after and was jailed by a High Court judge for refusing to reveal where his daughter was.

Judges have imposed jail terms of two years, 12 months and another 12 months in the hope that he would provide information. They have re-jailed him as each sentence neared its end.

Speaking ahead of Atiya's sixth birthday on Wednesday, Ms Wilkinson said: "It's been an absolute nightmare. As to her whereabouts we know nothing. We've had no contact.

"I'm worrying every day, every single day. Everything is affected by it. When I close my eyes I see her.

"I say goodnight to her every night before bed. I pray she's okay. We don't have any proof that she's okay, there is no proof she is still alive.

How missing girl Atiya Anjum-Wilkinson might look at 4-5 years of age.

"It's been discussed that she could have been sold, but I don't want to believe it.

"She was so funny. She was a little bundle of joy. She loved her lip gloss and handbags - as soon as she got hold of my makeup bag, everything in it was hers. We just want her home."

Ms Wilkinson's "on-off" relationship with Anjum ended in 2008.

"He's enjoying playing his controlling mind games. It's just sick. Razwan is refusing to say where she is, who she's with and he won't say anything other than 'she's in Iran'," he said.

Detective Constable Emma Constantine, of Greater Manchester Police's Child Protection Unit, said: "As far as we know, Razwan has had no contact with Atiya himself.

"He's never received any letters or photographs of Atiya, so there's no way that he knows how she is."

Detective Superintendent Phil Owen added: "We're working with a range of international agencies in order to find out who may be harbouring her, but it presents its challenges and problems and hopefully this is now the time to tug at heart-strings and generate information from the public."

He argued Anjum "will convince himself that she's looked after" but that he couldn't know that.

:: Anyone with information should phone police on 101, the Foreign Commonwealth Office on 020 7008 0878 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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Marks And Spencer Reports Fall In Profit

Marks and Spencer has reported a fall in underlying pre-tax profit to £297m for the first half of this year.

The chain blamed pressure on consumers' disposable incomes and volatile trading conditions - hit by bad weather - for the figure, which compares with £307m profit over the same period last year.  

But sales across the 128-year-old group were up 0.9% at £4.7bn driven by strong performance in its food division and internationally.

In its UK stores, however, sales were flat in the second quarter, with a 1.6% rise in food partially offsetting a 1.8% fall in general merchandise sales. 

It follows a 6.8% slump in general merchandise sales in the first quarter as a result of the wet summer weather and problems with stock availability, which left stores short of bestselling womenswear lines.

The group's chief executive, Marc Bolland, told Sky News: "We have repaired our womenswear position strongly over the second quarter.

"The issues we had were with merchandising and stock, we're now bucking the trends."

He added: "The first quarter was a difficult quarter as we explained three months ago, the second quarter has improved quite strongly."

Marks and Spencer, which has 730 stores in the UK and 390 overseas, said it was "well set up" for its busiest time of the year.

"As we approach the all-important Christmas period, we have better than ever Christmas products, to help our customers enjoy a special Christmas at home," Mr Bolland said.

Primark has been one of the high street's best performing stores

Eighteen months ago, Marks and Spencer launched a plan to transform itself into an "international multi-channel retailer" by boosting its website and making it easier to buy products on smartphones and tablets. 

Mr Bolland said this strategy was making "strong progress", with growth across its multi-channel business.

Retail analysts Conlumino described the results as a "mixed bag".

"While the overall half year numbers look anaemic, there has been a material uplift in fortunes since the first quarter," managing director Neil Saunders said, adding that it is too early to say whether the group is on the path to sustainable growth.

"M&S has still underperformed the market in fashion and growth in general merchandise remains elusive on a like-for-like basis.

"All of this points to the fact that M&S still has plenty of issues to resolve and there is still much work to be done."

The results came as Associated British Foods revealed that revenue across its 230 Primark stores had grown by 17%.

The clothes retailer has been one of the best performing stores on the high streets in the UK, Ireland and Spain because of its low prices and quick adoption of fashion trends.

The group, which also includes Twinings, Silver Spoon and Ryvita among other brands, reported a 17% rise in full-year profit.

Following "exceptional performance", the company said its adjusted pre-tax profit was £974m and revenue was up 11% to £12.3bn.

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Delicate Diplomacy On Cameron Gulf Arms Tour

David Cameron is attempting to cement major UK arms sales and bolster relations with allies on a three-day tour of the Gulf and Middle East.

The Prime Minister will personally spearhead a push to persuade the United Arab Emirates to buy 60 of BAE's Typhoon jets over French rivals in a deal reported to be worth upwards of £3bn.

On Tuesday, he will travel to Saudi Arabia - Britain's biggest trading partner in the region - which is also considering adding to its fleet of aircraft.

Downing Street said the visit - Mr Cameron's second to each country as premier - was part of a wider effort to build a "reinvigorated partnership" between Britain and the region's leaders.

Reinforced military ties are seen as crucial amid continued fears over Iran's nuclear ambitions and the threat Tehran could seek to badly disrupt oil supplies by blocking the Straits of Hormuz.

Mr Cameron has first flown to a military airbase near Dubai, where a number of RAF Typhoons, are stationed to promote the aircraft to military and political figures from the UAE.

He will also hold talks with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Prime Minister of the UAE on the potential for a joint work on the next generation of military aerospace equipment.

David Cameron having breakfast with troops in Dubai

The Government hopes to secure deals for 100 Typhoons to be sold to the region in the coming year - worth at least £6bn to British firms.

Mr Cameron faces a tough balancing act, however, as he attempts to secure billions in investment from the oil-rich states while addressing concerns about the human rights records of their regimes.

The Arab Spring has led to an increased focus on largely autocratic rule in many states, including crackdowns on pro-democracy and other protest movements.

The Government has been criticised for failing to condemn abuses and accused of continuing to sell military equipment with insufficient guarantees it would not be used in repression.

But Saudi officials reacted angrily to an "insulting" inquiry into it by the Commons foreign affairs committee, warning it would be "re-evaluating" relations.

"We want to work together with the Gulf countries towards a future that is rich in prosperity, strong in defence and open in its handling and pursuit of political and economic reform," Downing Street said ahead of the visit.

On Wednesday, Mr Cameron will make a short visit to the Middle East before flying home for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Downing Street ahead of the crunch EU budget summit.

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HSBC Sees 52% Profit Drop For Third Quarter

HSBC has announced a 52% fall in third quarter profit, as the bank taking further hits on US anti-laundering fines and mis-selling insurance in the UK.

It confirmed setting aside another $800m (£500m) to cover fines from US authorities, taking the total bill to $1.5bn (£937m).

Sky City Editor Mark Kleinman exclusively reported the £500m hit over laundering fines on Sunday.

It said the final cost over US fines could go even higher.

HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, said no agreement had been reached with US authorities and the final resolution will likely involve criminal as well as civil charges.

The bank said it also set aside an extra $353m (£220m) to compensate UK customers over mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI), raising the total estimated cost to £1.12bn.

Shares in HSBC were down 2.6% in early Monday trading, and was the biggest faller in the FTSE 100 index.

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Living Wage: Ed Miliband Wants Pay Shake-Up

Labour leader Ed Miliband will later vow to deliver a "living wage" of at least £7.20 per hour to millions of people if he wins power at the next election.

The wage - the minimum rate deemed necessary for an acceptable standard of living - is a key plank of Mr Miliband's "One Nation" vision for the country.

It is significantly higher than the minimum wage, which currently stands at £6.19 per hour for over 21s and even less for teenagers.

The living wage for London would be £8.30 because the cost of living in the capital is higher.

Labour is looking at three ways to make the new pay terms the norm, including naming and shaming listed companies who do not comply.

Firms who fail to pay enough could also be blocked from Whitehall contracts, while Treasury-funded incentives could go to higher paying companies.

The Opposition leader is believed to have worked closely with his brother David on the strategy, in a sign relations between the pair are finally thawing.

He will meet with leaders of Labour local authorities across the UK who are already implementing the pay structure.

He will say: "There are almost five million people in Britain who aren't earning the living wage; people who got up early this morning, spent hours getting to work - who are putting in all the effort they can - but who often don't get paid enough to look after their families, to heat their homes, feed their kids, care for elderly relatives and plan for the future.

"Too many people in Britain are doing the right thing and doing their bit, helping to build the prosperity on which our country depends, but aren't sharing fairly in the rewards.

"It's not how it should be in Britain, it's not how we will succeed as a country in the years ahead because we can't go on with an economy that works for a few at the top and not for most people. We need to change it."

He will continue: "This Government is stuck in the old mindset: saying nothing can be done and making it worse with tax cuts for millionaires and tax rises for everyone else.

"It is only a Labour government that will address the living standards crisis faced by so many.

"Even when money is tight and Britain is run by a Tory-led government, Labour councils have been driving the living wage forward. First in London and now across Britain.

"There are already scores of British businesses who are saying that the living wage makes sense for them because it improves staff retention and reduces absence rates.

"We will learn from them and find ways to help other businesses become living-wage employers."

The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that every person moved onto the living wage would save the Treasury around £1,000 in tax credits and from increased taxes.

A number of major firms already pay workers and contractors a living wage or higher.

Barclays has paid it in London since 2007, while 19 local authorities have been accredited as "living-wage employers".

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Man, 20, Stabbed To Death In Washington

A murder investigation has been launched after a 20-year-old man died from multiple stab wounds in northeast England.

The victim was found with a number of injuries in Warkworth Close, Washington, at around 3.40am after reports of someone being stabbed in the area, Northumbria Police said.

A spokesman for the force said: "The man was taken to hospital but was declared dead."

Patrols have been stepped up in the area following the stabbing and police are appealing for witnesses.

Anyone with information should call police on 101.

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Cosy Texts Between PM And Brooks Revealed

Text messages exchanged by David Cameron and former News International boss Rebekah Brooks are likely to cause fresh embarrassment for the Prime Minister.

In one message, Mr Cameron thanked Mrs Brooks for letting him ride one of her horses, joking it was "fast, unpredictable and hard to control but fun".

In another, the journalist, who faces trial in connection with the phone-hacking scandal, praised Mr Cameron's speech to the Conservative Party conference, saying: "I cried twice."

Both of the messages, which were disclosed by The Mail On Sunday, were sent in October 2009, shortly after Mrs Brooks left her job as editor of The Sun and became chief executive of News International, which owns the paper.

The messages are apparently part of a cache of texts and emails handed to Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into press standards.

Very few have so far been made public.

The leak sheds further light on the close relationship between Mr Cameron and Mrs Brooks, who live near each other in Oxfordshire.

Her husband, the racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, was at Eton with the Prime Minister.

Mrs Brooks told the Leveson Inquiry earlier this year that Mr Cameron signed some of his missives to her 'LOL' - mistakenly thinking it meant 'Lots Of Love' rather than 'Laugh Out Loud'.

Questions about Mr Cameron's close links with Rupert Murdoch's media empire, and Mrs Brooks in particular, came to the fore after the phone-hacking row erupted.

Mrs Brooks at the Leveson Inquiry

In her Leveson evidence, Mrs Brooks said, at the height of the scandal in 2010, he sent a message through an intermediary urging her to "keep your head up" and expressed his regret he could not be more loyal in public.

It also emerged previously that the Conservative leader rode a police horse, Raisa, which had been lent to Mrs Brooks by the Metropolitan Police.

Lord Justice Leveson is believed to have received a large amount of correspondence from the Prime Minister, Mrs Brooks and former Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson.

However, the inquiry's lead counsel, Robert Jay QC, has indicated that only "relevant" documents will be released.

Labour frontbencher Chris Bryant has challenged Mr Cameron to publish all the material himself, suggesting he was delaying the process because it was "too salacious and embarrassing".

Mrs Brooks and Mr Coulson, an ex-editor of the News Of The World, are among those facing trial for conspiracy to access voicemails.

In a separate case, Mrs Brooks and her husband are among a group charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister has always been happy to comply with whatever Lord Justice Leveson has asked of him."

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Teenager Killed In Hit And Run

A 16-year-old boy has died following a hit and run crash in Bury, Greater Manchester.

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British Holidaymaker Feared Drowned In Egypt

A British man is feared to have drowned after he failed to surface while scuba diving at a holiday resort in Egypt.

Steve Cracknell was having a routine lesson with his instructor off the coast of Sharm el-Sheikh when the pair went missing.

Mr Cracknell, 46, from Yeovil, Somerset, is thought to have been on holiday with his wife and their two daughters at the time.

He vanished while swimming at the White Knight dive site, a relatively shallow canyon.

Locals have reportedly been searching every day for the pharmaceuticals executive and his instructor, who were diving with a company located at the Savoy Hotel last Saturday.

A friend of Mr Cracknell, who asked not to be named, told The Daily Telegraph: "I am just holding out hope and don't want to think about the accident.

"I can't imagine how his wife and daughters are handling this. My heart goes out to them.

"We are hoping for a good resolution, but we know that the longer they are missing the less likely it is that the result will be good."

Shinji Sato, a Japanese dive instructor living in Sharm el-Sheikh, told the paper: "They've still not found the bodies. This kind of thing is incredibly rare. It never happens.

"Everyone here is very upset. It's so sad."

Mr Cracknell's instructor is understood to be Costantino Di Maria, a veteran diver who has lived in Sharm el-Sheikh for years.

Reports say the plateau which Mr Cracknell was exploring suddenly sheers off into a plummeting mile-deep precipice.

Locals have speculated that one of the two men may have encountered problems during the diving session.

Mr Cracknell's family are thought to have returned to the UK.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a British national is currently missing in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

"We are liaising with the local authorities and we are providing consular assistance to the family."

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