Rochdale Sex Abuse Review To Level Criticism

By Mike McCarthy, North of England Correspondent

A report into a series of child sex abuse cases in Rochdale is expected to level strong criticism at police and social workers.

It follows a high-profile court case last year which involved a sex trafficking gang who preyed on vulnerable young girls.

The victims had been plied with alcohol and drugs before being passed around a group of men who were largely of Pakistani origin.

Rochdale Council and Greater Manchester Police have already apologised for the way they handled the cases and fears have been raised in the town that dozens of victims may have slipped through the net.

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk said the review has taken too long

The serious case review findings come as five men who also sexually exploited a "profoundly vulnerable and damaged" 15-year-old girl in Rochdale are due to be sentenced.

Again in this case the victim's abusers plied her with alcohol and cannabis before committing their offences.

One man was originally arrested on suspicion of rape in 2008 and freed after the girl was told by police not to have further dealings with him.

He was finally re-arrested four years later. Several men had gone on to abuse the teenager in the intervening years.

Authorities involved in the care of Rochdale's vulnerable children say they have learned lessons but the education department is expected to be critical of today's report from the town's Safeguarding Children Board.

Rochdale's MP Simon Danczuk has been campaigning for a better response to the problem from Greater Manchester Police in particular.

He told Sky News: "I'm very frustrated that it's taken so long. They should have started a serious case review straight after the trial in Rochdale and that would have ensured that we could have moved on from it much more quickly.

"There's no doubt about it, this grooming case has cast a very negative shadow right across Rochdale for far too long."

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Npower To Pay £3.5m To Vulnerable Customers

Npower has agreed to pay £3.5m to vulnerable customers after an Ofgem investigation found the energy firm breached sales rules.

Regulator Ofgem said the failings of doorstep and telesales staff meant customers were not able to make informed decisions on whether to switch suppliers.

The company remedied the shortcomings by September 2012 but has agreed to make a payment of at least £25 to each of its customers who receive the Warm Home Discount.

Ofgem said npower gained insufficient information about a customer's consumption to enable them to decide whether to switch.

It also failed to ensure that comparisons between the price of npower's supply and that of the customer's current supplier were always based on the tariff that customers were on.

And information on when some consumers would receive their direct debit discount and how direct debit levels would be reviewed was also found to have been inaccurate.

Ofgem's Senior Partner in charge of enforcement Sarah Harrison said: "npower has done the right thing by stepping forward and recognising that, whilst it was making changes to improve its sales processes, weaknesses remained which affected consumers' ability to compare supplier offers fairly.

"These issues have been fully addressed by npower and Ofgem welcomes the company's actions and its agreement to pay £3.5m to directly benefit vulnerable consumers.

"Ofgem will continue to hold companies to account to ensure rules to protect energy consumers are met and that the market works for consumers in a simpler, clearer and fairer way."

Paul Massara, npower's CEO, said: "We've worked very closely with Ofgem as they've investigated these previous issues. It's good to draw a line under this, so we can focus on our goal of becoming number one for customer experience by the end of 2015."

Any money not paid out from the £3.5m will be paid into another fund in support for vulnerable homeowners with long term cold related illnesses.

Npower said it would write to customers affected by the rule breaches before assessing whether they are entitled to compensation.

The company, which has 3.4 million domestic customers, said it would donate £1m to a fund for vulnerable customers, with half of this channelled to Macmillan Cancer Support.

This week itt published a list of the actions it is taking to improve service.

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Adebolajo's Brother Refuses To Condemn Murder

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

The brother of Woolwich killer Michael Adebolajo has refused to condemn the murder of Lee Rigby.

Jeremiah Adebolajo told Sky News: "My brother's blood is no more expensive than the blood of an Afghan child, and I think Lee Rigby's blood is no more expensive than an Iraqi child."

When asked if he had any regrets over the murder in Woolwich, Mr Adebolajo replied: "My main regret is that foreign troops are in the land of the Muslims."

Like his brother, Mr Adebolajo believes the foreign policies of the UK and US justify direct action against British soldiers, who they believe are "enemy combatants".

The brothers grew up in Romford, Essex, with their parents and sisters.

Adebolajo was intercepted by Kenyan military trying to enter Somalia

Mr Adebolajo said: "We had a fairly ordinary upbringing. We grew up as any other Nigerian young men do I guess in east London, nothing extraordinary.

"My parents were protestant Christians. As you can imagine with most African parents, they consider religion to be something of great importance and we were no different."

Of his brother he said: "He was always concerned I guess with morality. He was a happy guy, he's a bit of a joker.

"A very athletic individual. He loves sports, football. He is an Arsenal fan."

Michael Adebolajo converted to Islam in his first year at the University of Greenwich, his brother said.

His brother said: "I don't think that there was a particular moment when he said 'I have become a Muslim'.

Lee Rigby was murdered in Woolwich on May 22

"It was a gradual change we saw in him in which he became more devoted, more practising."

Michael Adebolajo started joining street protests. In 2006 he was arrested and jailed for 51 days for assaulting two police officers when a demonstration turned violent outside the Old Bailey.

His brother, who also converted, rejects the assumption that Adebolajo was radicalised by prominent figures such as Anjem Choudray.

Jeremiah Adebolajo said: "The media have taken this line that we have a disenfranchised young Christian boy who was radicalised by these bogeymen figures, Anjem Choudary, Omar Bakri, it is a simplistic narrative.

"The truth is they had no ideological influence over my brother, none at all."

In 2010, Michael Adebolajo left his family in London and travelled to Kenya hoping to get into Somalia.

Adebolajo and Adebowale will be sentenced in January

It is widely reported he was trying to join al Shabaab but was intercepted by the Kenyan military and then deported back to the UK.

The British security services had a hand in his repatriation to Britain and were trying to recruit Adebolajo to work with them.

His brother said: "I think the public have a right to ask the security services why they brought him back when he wanted to live there under Islamic law."

Jeremiah Adebolajo also now lives abroad working as an English teacher at a university in Saudi Arabia, but has returned to London for the trial at the Old Bailey.

He has visited his brother inside HMP Belmarsh several times, most recently last Saturday.

Mr Adebolajo claimed that Michael was attacked by prison officers who knocked out the killer's front teeth during his time in prison.

He said: "It was five guys who attacked him. One of the reasons he doesn't want to get them (his teeth) fixed is because he doesn't want to hide it.

"My brother is the kind of guy that if we were young we would have a fight, he could get your teeth knocked out so it is not a huge major big deal."

On Thursday, the union for prison workers, POA, said in a statement that all five officers had been exonerated with the Crown Prosecution Service deciding there was no case to answer.

When challenged about the murder of Lee Rigby, Mr Adebolajo said he understood the condemnation of the public but added "we have to think about the reasons for these actions".

He said: "The young lady in Afghanistan who was raped and killed and burned alive by American soldiers, do you think her parents felt something similar to the parents of Lee Rigby?

"There is a danger in dehumanising Afghanistanis.

"My brother is under no illusion that his actions are going to have an overarching effect on foreign policy. He considers himself a soldier."

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Woman Killed As High Winds Hit UK And Ireland

Further strong winds are expected to batter the UK today after two people died in gale force conditions.

The Met Office has an amber warning - its second-highest level - for Northern Ireland and parts of western Scotland, where gusts of up to 90mph are expected.

Wind warnings are in place across much of the Republic of Ireland, with Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, as well as Munster, Leinster, Cavan and Monaghan, all braced for winds of up to 70mph.

As much as 20cm of snow could fall in Scotland, while icy roads may create treacherous driving conditions in Wales and across much of eastern England.

The League Cup game at Stoke was halted by a hail storm

It comes after storms caused by an Atlantic depression left two people dead and thousands of people without power.

A 23-year-old woman was killed in Ireland when a tree fell onto her car near Mullingar, County Westmeath.

Paramedics cut her free from the wreckage of the vehicle but she died from her injuries.

In Warwickshire, a man suffered head and chest injuries when a tree hit his car on the A45 between Stretton-on-Dunsmore and Rugby.

Flood warnings have been issued across the UK

A 19-year-old passenger in the car also suffered facial injuries.

Meanwhile, coastguards and an RAF helicopter were forced to call off a search after a man fell overboard from a cargo ship on the River Trent in Lincolnshire.

The 45-year-old, who was not thought to have been wearing a life jacket, became entangled in ropes, according to a coastguard spokesman.

The winds knocked out power to around 7,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland, with another 3,500 affected in northwest England and 900 in south Wales, although most people have now been reconnected.

The gales also caused widespread damage to overhead power and train lines.

The Environment Agency issued 29 flood warnings and 114 flood alerts, mostly in the west of the UK.

In Ireland, the strong winds ripped off part of the roof of Kent railway station in Cork, leaving one passenger with minor injuries.

The roof of Kent railway station in Cork collapsed in the high winds

The roof of a hotel was blown off in Moota, Cumbria, forcing police to close the A595.

Sheffield Wednesday's Championship game against Wigan had to be abandoned in the second half because of a waterlogged pitch and Manchester United's game against Stoke was temporarily halted by a hail storm.

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Breast Cancer Surgery Concerns: Report Published

By Adele Robinson, Sky News Correspondent

An independent review will be published today into how a breast cancer surgeon was allowed to carry out incomplete mastectomies on hundreds of women.

Ian Paterson performed unregulated "cleavage-sparing" procedures at Solihull Hospital and Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield for 15 years.

The operation leaves breast tissue behind for cosmetic reasons and is against national guidelines.

The independent review, carried out by Sir Ian Kennedy, looked at how the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust responded to concerns raised by staff and patients.

Shirley Moroney's sister Marie Pinfield died following surgery

Kashmir Uppal, from Thompsons solicitors in Birmingham which represents hundreds of patients, said: "He was told to stop carrying out the cleavage-sparing mastectomy in 2007, he gave an undertaking that he would stop but despite that he continued."

An internal report carried out at Solihull Hospital in 2004 highlighted the potential risk of the procedure.

In 2007 there was a review of breast care services at the hospital and Mr Paterson was told to stop performing the operations. However, there is evidence from solicitors suggesting he performed the procedure until 2010.

The NHS Trust said negligent surgery did not cause Ms Pinfield's death

Shirley Moroney's sister Marie Pinfield was operated on twice by Mr Paterson in 2006 and on both occasions he left breast tissue behind.

Ms Pinfield died two years later but the NHS Trust says negligent surgery did not cause her death and her cancer would have returned even with a full mastectomy. 

Ms Moroney believes Mr Paterson had too much power.

"I'd like a cultural change within the NHS that meant that if people were concerned about the way operations were being done that they could have a voice," she said.

"No-one ever questioned him and that's why he was allowed to get away with it as long as he did."

Dr Mark Newbold, chief executive of Heart of England Foundation Trust said: "I would like to re-emphasise that, on behalf of the Trust, I very much regret what has happened to so many women, and our thoughts are with them and their families.

"There is no doubt that mistakes have been made in the past, and this is why since I came into post, have focused on what the patients and staff have been telling us to identify fully what happened and to take every possible action to prevent this from happening again."

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Brits Evacuated From South Sudan Amid Fighting

Britons are being evacuated from South Sudan as fighting spreads through the state after an apparent coup at the weekend.

A plane has been sent to the state to remove more than 150 British citizens who have contacted the Foreign Office wanting to leave the country.

Embassy staff were among those being evacuated although the Foreign Office emphasised that it would be keeping open its embassy in the capital, Juba.

The United Nations has estimated that up to 500 people have been killed in fighting between rival factions following a coup attempt against President Salva Kiir by soldiers loyal to his former deputy.

Some 10 senior government ministers were arrested at the beginning of the week but fighting continues amid increasing political tensions.

South Sudan won its independent from the north in 2011 but has struggled with corruption and ethnic violence since.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that around 20,000 people have taken refuge with the UN in Juba.

The Foreign Office has advised against all travel to within 40km of South Sudan's northern border with Sudan, Jonglei State and Juba, and all but essential travel to the rest of South Sudan.

A spokeswoman said: "A UK aircraft is en route to Juba to evacuate British nationals who wish to leave from Juba airport on Thursday 19 December.

"If you are a British national and you wish to leave Juba you should contact the FCO as soon as possible."

British nationals seeking to leave South Sudan are urged to contact the Foreign Office in London for advice, by calling 0207 008 1500 or by emailing crisis@fco.gsi.gov.uk.

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Reaper Attack HQ: Rare Access To Top Secret Site

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The British military has allowed journalists and cameras into its previously top secret drone operation for the first time.

Access to XIII Squadron, the RAF team that operates the aircraft, was granted after months of negotiation in an attempt at transparency and because the Ministry of Defence is "fed up with the myths".

It is a major step forward in the understanding of a fast developing military asset used by an increasing number of nations and surrounded in controversy.

The UK operation is conducted in a large aircraft hangar deep inside RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, but the drones are flying over Afghanistan many thousands of miles away.

Britain has a range of UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) craft

Britain has a range of UAS's - Unmanned Aerial Systems - commonly known as drones, a nickname disliked by the British government.

They range from the very small - palm sized helicopters for hovering and watching at short range - to aircraft the same size of a light aircraft which can fly at 20,000 feet.

The largest and only armed drone in the British fleet is the Reaper. It carries four Hellfire missiles and can strike a target, with precision, from distance.

Britain has five Reapers and a further five on order. The first Reaper operations from UK territory started on April 24 at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.

XIII Squadron had previously flown missions in Afghanistan from Creech Air Base in Nevada.

Figures obtained by Sky News under a Freedom of Information request show that RAF Reaper drones have fired 41 missiles between April and November this year. They have also flown 3085.52 hours, an average of 16 each day, in that time.

Despite persistent requests by Sky News and other organisations, the government has not released details of casualties and deaths from drone strikes, insisting it does not collect such data because of the dangers and difficulties in doing so.

XIII Squadron has flown missions over Afghanistan

"As far as we are aware there have been no civilian casualties as a result of those strikes," the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told Sky News.

"The only RPAS (Remotely Piloted Air System) strike which has involved a civilian casualty that we are aware of, took place in 2011, a regrettable incident but something that could have happened with a manned aircraft."

That incident killed four Afghan civilians in March 2011 when two pick-up trucks were hit - two insurgents also died. A resulting ISAF inquiry found that the drone pilots had followed correct procedures.

The pilots are all experienced and highly trained. Many have come from a career flying fast jets. They must abide by the same rules. A lawyer is on the end of a phone if needed.

One of the pilots, who only wanted to be known by his first name, Col, explained further: "Coming across here and doing the job in exactly the same way as any manned aircraft would do, using the same rules, the same laws of engagements, the same laws of armed conflicts as any other aircraft does, means that we feel entirely comfortable executing force be it from Afghanistan or from here."

The operation is run from a hangar in Lincolnshire

The growing dependence on drones, particularly by the US military, is proving increasingly controversial.

Barack Obama has been accused of prosecuting an unauthorised war in Pakistan by repeatedly using drones to strike against suspected terrorist targets.

"Targets are always positively identified as legitimate military objectives, and strikes are prosecuted in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict and UK Rules of Engagement," the MoD explained.

"When tasked to attack a target, qualified Reaper pilots can select from two types of precision-guided weapons. They will select the smallest warhead appropriate to the target being attacked, and every effort is made to avoid civilian casualties.

"In some circumstances, this results in attacks being aborted."

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'Some Prisoners Should Be Allowed To Vote'

Prisoners serving short sentences or approaching the end of their time behind bars should be allowed to vote, according to a group of MPs and peers.

The committee said it would be "wholly disproportionate" for the UK to defy a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and said the Government had failed to set out a "plausible" case for maintaining the existing blanket ban.

It called on the Government to table a Bill granting the vote in local, general and European elections to those serving less than 12 months or within six months of release.

Those convicted of particularly serious crimes would remain banned.

However, the panel of MPs and peers was split over the issue, with chairman Nick Gibb and two other MPs arguing that the Government should give Parliament the choice between offering prisoners this restricted franchise or keeping the ban.

The majority recommendation flies in the face of a House of Commons vote in 2011, when MPs voted by an overwhelming 234 to 22 to preserve the ban, in spite of the ECHR ruling that it breaches the European Convention on Human Rights.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling last year published a draft bill offering MPs three options - giving the vote to prisoners serving less than four years or less than six months or keeping the ban.

But Prime Minister David Cameron told the Commons extending the vote to prisoners would make him "physically ill".

In its report, the joint committee of both Houses set up to consider the Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill found Britain was under a "binding international law obligation" to comply with the ECHR ruling and defiance would be "completely unprecedented" and have "grave implications".

The UK is one of only five of the 47 Council of Europe members to ban all convicted prisoners from voting, alongside Armenia, Bulgaria, Estonia and Russia.

Granting the vote to those serving less than 12 months was unlikely to affect more than around 7,000 people in any election, said the committee.

It recommended giving inmates postal votes for their home constituencies, and predicted that prisoners' votes were "unlikely to have a bearing on the outcome of elections".

The report's key recommendation was approved by MPs Crispin Blunt (C) and Sir Alan Meale (Lab) and peers Lord Dholakia (Lib Dem), Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen (Lab), Lord Norton of Louth (C) and Lord Peston (Lab).

Alongside Conservative former minister Mr Gibb, Tory MP Steve Brine and Labour's Derek Twigg dissented.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "This is an issue on which Parliament has expressed strong views.

"The Government will consider the report carefully and will respond early next year, setting out how Parliament will be given its say."

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Jayden Parkinson: Police Searching Graveyard

Police looking for missing teenager Jayden Parkinson are focusing their investigation on a churchyard grave.

Thames Valley Police said the search for Jayden had led officers to the grounds of All Saints' Church in Didcot, Oxfordshire.

The 17-year-old girl disappeared on December 3 after she was last seen leaving the town's railway station at about 4.30pm.

Officers are acting on a tip-off and have been in contact with the family of the person buried in the grave.

Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Murray said: "[On Tuesday afternoon] we received some significant and highly relevant information which leads us to concentrate our search efforts in the Great Western Cemetery.

"We're in the process of securing this grave and would like to emphasise that the family connected with this grave have been informed.

Jayden disappeared on December 3

"We will be here throughout the night and for a number of days. A tent has been erected which covers more than the specific grave we are focusing on.

"The families of those in the graves nearby will be contacted by us and reassured that there will be no disturbance to these graves."

Jayden's former boyfriend, 22-year-old Ben Blakeley, of Reading, has appeared at Oxford Crown Court charged with her murder and perverting the course of justice.

A 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also appeared before Oxford magistrates charged with perverting the course of justice between December 3 and December 10 by allegedly assisting in the disposal of Jayden's body and other evidence.

More than 100 uniformed officers and detectives have been working on the case, backed up by specialists from the National Crime Agency.

Police have searched farmland, woodland and derelict buildings

Mr Murray said there was "no indication" that Jayden was alive, and appealed to the public to get in touch if they remembered seeing the teenager "on her own, or in the company of anybody".

He also repeated an appeal for any information about a man seen struggling with a suitcase just outside the village of Upton, near Didcot, in south Oxfordshire, at about 2am, on December 9.

The same man was later then seen with the same suitcase in the Lydalls Road area of Didcot - where All Saints' is located - at about 3.30am.

Detectives have since recovered several suitcases, one of which "may well be significant", Mr Murray said.

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Prison Efforts To Cut Re-Offending 'Not Working'

Efforts made by prisons in England and Wales to cut re-offending are not working, according to an inspection report.

The damning report also claims the majority of prison staff do not understand what is required to meet the targets set under the Government proposals.

A study of 21 prisons by Liz Calderbank, chief inspector of probation, and Nick Hardwick, chief inspector of prisons, found little progress has been made in offender management and a fundamental review is needed.

It comes as the Government rolls out its Transforming Rehabilitation reforms, including plans for a nationwide "through the prison gate" resettlement service, which would see most offenders given continuous support by one provider from custody into the community.

In a joint statement, the chief inspectors said: "We have come to the reluctant conclusion that the offender management model, however laudable its aspirations, is not working in prisons.

"The majority of prison staff do not understand it and the community-based offender managers, who largely do, have neither the involvement in the process or the internal knowledge of the institutions to make it work.

"It is more complex than many prisoners need and more costly to run than most prisons can afford."

They said the pressures facing the Prison Service mean it would be unlikely to deliver future National Offender Management Service (NOMS) expectations.

"We therefore believe that the current position is no longer sustainable and should be subject to fundamental review."

Offender management involves the assessment, planning and implementation of work with offenders in the community or in custody to address the likelihood of them reoffending and the risk of harm they pose to the public.

Community-based offender managers and staff in prison Offender Management Units have joint responsibility for work with prisoners to address the attitudes, behaviour and lifestyle behind their offending.

The inspectors found organisational changes to offender management units failed to address a culture of poor communication or mistrust between prison departments.

It is the third report to be published from the joint Prisoner Offender Management Inspection programme and draws on findings from inspections undertaken between April 2012 and March 2013.

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "When two highly respected independent chief inspectors of prisons and probation reveal evidence of failures in offender management across 21 prisons and seek a fundamental review, this must surely act as a wake-up call for government."

Justice minister Jeremy Wright said: "More than 600,000 offences were committed last year by prisoners who had broken the law before - despite a £4bn annual spend on prisons and probation.

"This is unacceptable and it's why we are introducing radical plans for change through our Transforming Rehabilitation reforms, which will see all offenders leaving prison receiving targeted through-the-gate support."

:: The following prisons were inspected for the programme: Buckley Hall, Bullingdon, Bullwood Hall, Canterbury, Channings Wood, Drake Hall, Forest Bank, Frankland, Full Sutton, Gloucester, Highpoint, Huntercombe, Leeds, Leyhill, Lewes, Lincoln, Lindholme, Northumberland, Onley, The Verne and Winchester.

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