Barclays Cuts 3,700 Jobs In Bank Shake-Up

Barclays has announced 3,700 job cuts amid plans to cut £1.7bn in costs and improve standards.

Of these job losses, 1,800 will be in its corporate and investment bank and 1,900 will be in European retail and business banking.

Some 1,600 jobs have already been cut in the investment banking business since the start of the year, Barclays said.

Sky News revealed on Monday that thousands of jobs would go outside its investment bank as part of a streamlining programme overseen by the company's new chief executive Antony Jenkins.

But despite the redundancies, the bank - Britain's second largest - revealed it would still pay £1.85bn in bonuses to staff.

On average, payouts in its investment bank were £54,100, and the average bonus across the group was £13,300 - although these are below 2011's levels. 

Antony Jenkins is behind Project Transform, which aims to improve standards

It comes as Barclays reports adjusted pre-tax profit of £7.048bn for the 12 months to the end of December - a rise of more than 26% on 2011.

Its investment bank performed even better, with profit before tax up 37% at £4.063bn.

Statutory pre-tax profit - which includes the fund set aside to compensate those mis-sold payment protection insurance, among other charges - was £248m.

Mr Jenkins, who became Barclay's chief executive in August, is due to announce the outcome of a strategic review this morning,

As part of the overhaul - known as Project Transform - the group's total cost base will be reduced by £1.7bn to £16.8bn in 2015.

The bank also confirmed that its controversial tax avoidance unit would close, as revealed by Sky's City Editor.

"We intend to change what Barclays does and how we do it and have set out clear commitments against which our progress can be measured," Mr Jenkins said in a statement.

"Our goal is to make Barclays the 'Go-To' bank for all our stakeholders.

"The plan that we set out today is critical to delivering that goal."

Mr Jenkins announced he was waiving his bonus for 2012 earlier this month.

The bank's profit comes despite a difficult year at the bank, which saw its reputation - and the banking industry's as a whole - come under pressure.

Last week, Barclays said it had increased funds put aside for mis-selling to consumers and businesses by another £1bn, taking the total to £2.6bn.

And in the summer the bank was fined £290m for manipulating the interbank borrowing rate, Libor.

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G4S Makes £70m Loss After Olympics 'Fiasco'

Security company G4S has said its loss on the London Olympic security contract would stretch to £70m, after finally agreeing a settlement with Games organisers.

The world's biggest security firm's reputation was badly tarnished when it admitted just weeks before last year's Olympics it could not provide 10,400 guards for the Games, forcing British troops to fill in.

G4S, which was subsequently hauled before British MPs to explain the debacle, had estimated the loss on the contract - worth around £240m - to be around £50m.

Two G4S directors; chief operating officer David Taylor-Smith and Ian Horseman Sewell, who was head of global events, resigned in the wake of the independent review.

However, chief executive Nick Buckles, stayed in his post.

The group said it had also incurred additional costs of approximately £11m, relating to charitable donations and external fees and a further £7m relating to the cost of sponsorship and marketing.

All of these costs will be taken in the 2012 accounts as an exceptional charge.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) said the taxpayer's interests have been fully protected in compensating for the difficulties experienced by G4S's shortcomings.

Its chief financial officer Neil Wood said the overall agreement reduced the payment due to G4S by £85m, comprising £48m to cover step-in costs by police and military and £37m primarily for project management failures.

He added: "The savings arising from this settlement brings the total savings to the public purse from the Locog venue security budget to £102m compared to the position in December 2011."

Commenting on the settlement, Mr Buckles, said: "Whilst we are extremely disappointed to find ourselves in this position, we are pleased to have concluded these negotiations with LOCOG.

"We have accepted responsibility for the security workforce issues and, as a result of the settlement terms which we have announced today, have ensured that the overall cost to the taxpayer has been reduced significantly against the planned cost."

He added: "We would like to reiterate our thanks to the military and the police for their support.

"We would also like to thank the 16,000 men and women of G4S who played their part in securing the Games despite the challenges faced by the group."

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Heathrow Investment 'To Raise Ticket Prices'

Officials at Heathrow Airport have announced £3bn of investment in a move that is likely to leave passengers paying higher prices.

The proposals include the opening of the new Terminal 2 next year, improved check-in and baggage facilities, and more customer service training for staff.

The airport wants regulators to approve a five-year plan which will see the fees it charges airlines to use the airport rise over the period 2014 to 2019.

If approved, the charges would increase from the equivalent of £19.33 per passenger for 2012/13 to as much as £27.30 in 2018/19.

Heathrow accounts for 78% of all long-haul flights from the UK.

The charges, which need to be approved by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), will help pay for the investment.

Heathrow chief executive Colin Matthews said: "Heathrow is the UK's only hub airport and a strategically important national infrastructure asset. Heathrow faces stiff competition from other European hubs and we must continue to improve the service we offer passengers and airlines.

"We have invested billions of pounds in new facilities such as Terminal 5 in recent years and passengers say they have noticed the difference.

"Our plan for a further £3bn of private-sector investment will further improve the airport for passengers.The plan represents good value for money for airlines and passengers and comes at no cost to taxpayers."

British Airways is concerned about the price rises

He said the airport envisaged passenger numbers increasing from just under 70 million now to around 72.6 million by 2018/19.

Asked about the possibility of a third runway, Mr Matthews said that with all that would be need to be done in terms of political decisions and planning there was unlikely to be "any shovel going into the ground realistically for the period we are talking about (2014 to 2019)".

He said that the proportion of Heathrow passengers rating their journey as very good or excellent had increased from 48% in 2007 to 72% today.

While airlines have supported plans for better customer service they have concerns about the rise in charges.

British Airways said: "Heathrow Airport's charges have already tripled over the past 11 years. The charges must be reduced significantly over the coming years, especially when the airport is cutting investment by around 25% from next year onwards.

"We hope the regulator (the CAA) will give a fair ruling in the months ahead, which doesn't penalise customers and airlines."

Virgin Atlantic chief operating officer Steve Griffiths said: "We are totally committed to improving the passenger experience at Heathrow.

"However, we believe this can be done without a repeat of the incredibly steep price rises we have seen in airport charges in the last few years.

"Prices at Heathrow are triple the level they were 10 years ago. Clearly this is a concern for all passengers travelling through Heathrow, and all airlines operating there."

Heathrow's flight punctuality - the number of planes taking off or landing within 15 minutes of schedule - was only around 67% in 2007.

It has now gone up to 80% and the airport wants this figure to increase to 90% by the end of the decade.

Its chiefs said that while 4% of bags went missing in 2007, this figure is now down to 1.5%.

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Two Charged Over Death Of Policewoman

Two men have been charged over the death of a policewoman whose patrol car was hit by a stolen 4x4 in Northern Ireland.

Constable Philippa Reynolds, 27, from the Greater Belfast area, died when the unmarked car she was travelling in turned into the path of the vehicle in Londonderry in the early hours of Saturday morning.

One the men, aged 25, has been charged with 10 offences including causing death by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking causing death or grievous bodily injury, burglary and driving while unfit.

The other man, aged 23, has been charged with aggravated vehicle taking causing death or grievous bodily injury, burglary, criminal damage and assisting an offender.

They are both due to appear in court in Londonderry this morning.

PC Reynolds, a former teacher, had been in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for two years.

Her commander in Londonderry, Chief Superintendent Stephen Cargin, paid tribute to her in the wake of the crash.

"She was a young 27-year-old officer, just two years' service, in the prime of her life, doing what she loved to do - and that was serving the community to the best of her ability," he said.

"Her colleagues are devastated, as I am as her commander, as we all are as a police service.

"She was enthusiastic, bubbly and had a beautiful personality.

"She was just loved by her colleagues and she turned that love to the community she served."

CS Cargin said he believed PC Reynolds, who was sitting in the rear driver's side seat, would have died instantly due to the force of the impact with the silver Toyota Land Cruiser.

Two other officers in the patrol car suffered non-serious injuries.

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James Bulger Killer Venables 'Still A Danger'

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

The mother of James Bulger has told Sky News she believes tougher sentences are needed to stop people who commit serious crimes from "getting away with it".

Speaking on the eve of the 20th anniversary of her son's murder, Denise Fergus said she feels she has still not achieved justice despite fighting for two decades.

James was just two years old when he was abducted from the Strand shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside.

CCTV cameras captured 10-year-old schoolboys Jon Venables and Robert Thompson leading the toddler by the hand.

They took him to a railway embankment in Walton, Liverpool, where they tortured him, inflicting 42 injuries before leaving him dead on the tracks where a train severed his body.

Venables was 10 when he and Robert Thompson murdered James

Venables and Thompson were convicted of murder and given life sentences in November 1993. Less than eight years later, in June 2001, the pair were released and given new identities.

Mrs Fergus told Sky News she feels let down by the justice system and strongly believes a change in the law is needed so killers receive harsher punishments.

"They should make them realise what they've done is wrong. If they give them a hard enough time maybe they'll think again before they go on to commit another crime," she said.

"What I'm saying is stop giving them stupid sentences like five or 10 years or if they get a 10-year sentence stop dropping it to five years because of good behaviour.

Mrs Fergus believes Venables is still a danger

"They've done bad in the first place to be there. Start giving them proper sentences, sentences that fit the crime and stop being so lenient on them."

Venables was jailed again in 2010 for downloading and distributing dozens of indecent images of children. He is now making a new bid for release.

Mrs Fergus is expected to deliver a victim statement in person for the first time to his parole board. She told Sky News she feels strongly he should remain behind bars.

She has been concerned that a possible sexual motive for her son's murder has never been properly investigated. She believes Venables still poses a risk to the public.

She said: "I just urge them not to release him because I still believe he is a danger. He's a ticking time bomb and he always has been.

"To get away with so much you know someone out there hasn't been doing their job.

"He was meant to have been monitored on his release. To build up all those images on his laptop is unbelievable and just proves that he hasn't been getting monitored at all."

"I'm not saying lock him up forever. Until he's got a stable mind then I think he should be locked up. But I don't know if he'll ever get that stable mind."

Mrs Fergus also believes Venables should not be given a second new identity.

"If he gets another ID then he's putting other people in danger because on his release people are going to be aware who moves into their area," she said.

"If someone new moves in on his release then everyone's going to be pointing fingers and it might not be him, it might be an innocent man."

Mrs Fergus, her husband Stuart and three sons will visit James's grave on the anniversary of his death. She said she will never stop fighting for justice.

"That's something I'll never give up. The day I give that up I'll be letting a lot of people down. All the support that I've had over the past 20 years would be undone," she said.

"I'd feel I was letting my family down, and I'd feel I'd be letting James down, I'd be letting myself down. You know if it takes another 20 years I'm going to keep on fighting."

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Snow And Sleet Bring Rush Hour Travel Fears

Another burst of wintry weather has hit parts of Britain, prompting concerns of travel disruption during the morning rush hour.

Parts of the country have been waking up to more than four inches of snow and ice warnings are in place for much of the UK.

Sleet and snow began falling in central, eastern and southern areas overnight.

Most areas from Scotland down through to southeast England have been hit with a covering of at least two inches of snow.

And the worst affected areas, including north England and the Midlands, could have twice that.

More than four inches has already settled in High Wycombe according to reports.

The falls are expected to stop later this morning, but the accumulations could still cause disruption for commuters.

Epping Forest in northeast London

More light flurries are predicted for today and tomorrow, after which the week is expected to turn milder.

Sky News meteorologist Chris England said: "Eastern Wales and central and eastern parts of Scotland and England will see widespread snow overnight. The snow will clear from Scotland and northern England later.

"Elsewhere, western Wales, southwest England and Ireland will mostly have rain, but there will be some snow too, mainly over the hills. It will turn mostly dry there by morning.

"Today will be rather dull for southern Britain and Ireland, with a little rain in the west and a few snow flurries in the east, but southwest England will enjoy bright spells.

"Scotland and northern England will be mainly dry with some sunshine, once wintry showers clear the far north. It will be cold in the north and east, with a rather chilly breeze.

"Tuesday will be cold and dry for most, but Ireland will see rain moving into the west later. That rain will spread to Britain on Wednesday, bringing more snow to the north."

Meanwhile, thousands of UK passengers have been stranded in the US after flights to Britain were grounded when a massive snowstorm hit the US east coast.

It dumped more than three feet of snow from Massachusetts to New Jersey, while hurricane-force winds battered the eastern states and up into Canada, killing at least eight people.

Heathrow Airport said 10 inbound flights - all from New York and Boston - were cancelled today, as was one outbound flight to Washington.

British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Air Canada were all forced to cancel flights, Heathrow said.

Passengers were advised to check if their flights are affected with their airlines.

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Clegg Speaks Of 'Shock' Over Huhne Affair

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has told Sky News he was "shocked" by the resignation of Chris Huhne, adding that the former Energy Secretary needs to "make amends" in the wake of the affair.

In a lengthy interview with Sky's Dermot Murnaghan, Mr Clegg spoke about a range of issues including Mr Huhne's decision to resign from Parliament, the upcoming by-election in Mr Huhne's former seat of Eastleigh, and the Mid Staffordshire Hospital scandal.

Mr Huhne has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice over claims that his ex-wife Vicky Pryce took speeding penalty points so that he could avoid prosecution.

He announced he was quitting as an MP shortly after entering the plea on the first day of the pair's trial at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday.

Speaking to Sky News about the affair, Mr Clegg said: "I was very shocked, sad to see what happened and to see that frankly his whole family is engulfed in this in a very public way.

"You'd have to have a heart of stone not to think that is a pretty shocking and sad thing.

"I took what Chris said at face value, indeed he then rang me the night before he entered his guilty plea to tell me he was doing so.

"I'm not going to start a running commentary on events that have happened and of course a sentence hasn't even been handed down yet."

"At the end of the day Chris needs to speak for himself, needs to answer for himself, and needs to make amends."

Mr Huhne, 58, was once seen as a future Lib Dem leader. He has been released on unconditional bail and will be sentenced at a later date.

Also speaking about the neglect of patients at Mid Staffordshire Hospital, Mr Clegg said that he - like the public - was distressed by details of patient mistreatment.

"It's literally unbelievable, I think, that in this day and age that should happen in our NHS, that otherwise provides excellent and compassionate care to many people.

"And, yes, as Jeremy Hunt has rightly said, where the police can identify clear culpability, they should look at the evidence and do so."

:: Watch the full interview with Nick Clegg on Sky's Murnaghan program starting at 10am.

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Children Of Alcoholics Face Ongoing Struggle

By Clare Fallon, Sky News Reporter

As Children of Alcoholics Week begins, campaigners are trying to raise awareness about the difficulties faced by youngsters who grow up in households with alcohol abuse issues.

The National Association for Children of Alcoholics receives more than 4,500 calls a year - many from under 18s who are struggling to cope.

Their youngest ever caller was a five-year-old girl whose alcohol-dependent mother had committed suicide in the bathroom.

Hilary Henriques, one of the founders of the charity, warns the recession has only made the situation worse with addicts drinking to cope with financial pressure and in turn struggling to fund their alcohol problem. 

She said: "Alcoholics who drink don't choose to drink. Drink is how they get through the day."

Martin Williams is one of the alcoholic parents the charity has helped.

He describes how his relationship with alcohol became more important that his relationship with his two children.

"They stopped becoming the priority. The drink became the priority. And you try and juggle the two," he said.

Now though, he has been off the drink for more than three years and says his children are getting their dad back - an improved, sober version. 

Martin Williams says alcohol was once more important to him than his kids

The most recent figures show around one-fifth of children are living with someone drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol.

According to research, the impact of having an alcoholic parent can be lifelong, with significantly increased chances of developing mental health problems and eating disorders.

Children of alcoholics are also more likely to get into trouble with police and develop a drink problem themselves. 

Rosey, 20, has now moved out of home and is studying at university. 

While her flatmates enjoy a typical student lifestyle, she does not touch alcohol and says does not think she ever will.

Rosey's father has been an alcoholic as long as she can remember. 

She describes how she never invited school friends back home because she did not what them to meet her "slurring and rocking" dad. 

She says she has given up thinking it's her job to try to help him.

The charity Children of Addicted People and Parents said such situations are common.

Its founding director Emma Spiegler describes the situation faced by many youngsters as "a hell hole with no escape". 

But she insists with help and support children can come through it.

"Together we can help to break the silence, secrecy and stigma young people keep bottled up inside," she said.

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Horsemeat Scandal: 'Prepare For More Cases'

More cases of contaminated meat may be revealed within days, the Government has warned as it raised fears that an international criminal conspiracy was behind the horse meat scandal.

The warning comes as The Independent newspaper claims up to one in 30 horses being exported to Europe for consumption could contain traces of a drug, known as Bute, which is harmful to humans.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said the next set of results on all retailers' and manufacturers' processed beef products could reveal further traces of horse meat.

"There may well be more bad results coming through, that's the point of doing this random analysis," Mr Paterson said.

The results, ordered by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), are due on Friday.

But David Clarke, chief executive of Red Tractor Assurance, a food guarantee scheme that covers British production standards, urged people to put the scandal into perspective.

Paterson: 'Prepare for more bad news'

He told Sky News: "The news in the last three weeks has been of great concern to consumers. But to get it in perspective it is only affected a small part of the food that is in the shops.

"I would hope that all of the fresh meat that people are eating for Sunday lunch today should not be affected by this."

Mr Clarke added that the food industry had learnt lessons from the last few weeks, namely that "this very cheap processed meat produced with raw materials that are traded all across the world, all across Europe, is potentially a problem".

Meanwhile, one of the food companies at the centre of the horsemeat scandal has said it is considering taking legal action against its suppliers.

Frozen foods firm Findus, which has taken its beef lasagnes off shelves after some were found to have up to 100% horse meat in them, said it was looking into legal action as an internal investigation "strongly suggests" that the contamination "was not accidental".

The Ministry of Agriculture in Romania - to where the horsemeat has been traced - has launched an inquiry after two of its abattoirs were implicated in the scandal.

The Environment Secretary also revealed retailers have agreed plans to improved their food testing, adding that they hold the "ultimate responsibility" for making sure their products do not contain horse meat.

Mr Paterson was speaking after attending an emergency meeting with bosses from leading supermarkets, trade bodies and the FSA on Saturday to discuss the scandal which has seen chains including Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Iceland withdraw some products.

He said supermarkets and trade bodies have already begun plans to carry out more testing and report their results on a quarterly basis.

Aldi has withdrawn products containing horsemeat

They had also agreed that consumers should be compensated if they have bought withdrawn products with no questions asked, he said.

Mr Paterson added: "It's a question of either gross incompetence, but as I've said publicly and I'll repeat again, I'm more concerned there's actually an international criminal conspiracy here, and we've really got to get to the bottom of it."

Scotland Yard have met representatives from the FSA, although there is currently no official police investigation.

Prime Minister David Cameron has described the scandal as "shocking" and "completely unacceptable", while Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was "appalling".

The Trading Standards Institute has said the discovery of such high levels of horse meat suggests "deliberate fraudulent activity".

Food safety experts have said there is no risk to public health.

Tesco and Aldi have also withdrawn a range of ready meals produced by Comigel over fears that they contained contaminated meat.

The GMB union said all hospitals, schools and meals-on-wheels services should verify that horse meat had not been served to vulnerable people.

Responding to fears that school dinners might be contaminated with horsemeat, the Department for Education said schools and councils were responsible for their food contracts.

A spokeswoman for the Local Authority Caterers Association said: "We are as sure as we can be that this is not affecting the school catering area."

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NHS Deaths: Health Sec Urges Police Probe

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has urged police to investigate the hundreds of deaths caused by neglect and abuse at Stafford Hospital.

In the wake of a damning report into care failings at the hospital, Mr Hunt said it was "absolutely disgraceful" that nobody had been "held to account" for the premature deaths of up to 1,200 people.

"I think it's absolutely outrageous that potentially more than a thousand people lost their lives because of poor care and not a single person has been brought to book," he told The Daily Telegraph.

"This was a public inquiry that was designed to help us understand why the system didn't pick up what went wrong but I think it is absolutely disgraceful with all those things happening, whether it is doctors, nurses or managers, nobody has been held to account."

Mr Hunt said the police should look at the evidence already in the public domain and insisted it was not for him to say who was guilty and who was not.

Jeremy Hunt wants individuals to be 'brought to book'

"As a politician, I am not in a position to say this nurse is guilty, this nurse is not, and all these things have to be decided at arm's length following due process. This is about people's careers and livelihood and there has to be fairness of course," he said.

Robert Francis QC, who led the inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, uncovered a "disaster" in the standards of basic care and medical treatment for some of the most vulnerable and elderly patients.

Reporting this week, Mr Francis said there were failings at every level of the NHS and that the culture among healthcare staff must change.

He said: "What we need to avoid is yet another wholesale reorganisation of abolishing organisations and creating new ones.

"This is about how people behave when they go to work and their ability to raise concerns and be honest about what's going on in their hospitals."

Stafford Hospital victim Alan Nash died after his bowel was perforated

His comments came after it emerged there were 3,000 more deaths than expected at another five NHS trusts between 2010 and last year.

A review has been launched into Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Patients' campaigner Julie Bailey, whose elderly mother Bella died at Stafford Hospital, called for individuals in the NHS to be held accountable for the failings in care.

She said: "This is an opportunity to put down the gauntlet and say enough is enough. From today you will be held accountable for your actions - it's no good saying in the future you will be held accountable.

"We want accountability for the hundreds of deaths and the suffering our loved ones had to put up with."

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