N Ireland Child Abuse Inquiry: Hundreds Respond

By David Blevins, Ireland Correspondent

More than 400 people have applied to speak to the state inquiry into historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland, the largest tribunal of its kind anywhere in the UK.

Most applications, some 280, were from people living in Northern Ireland, but 63 came from Great Britain, 61 from Australia, 20 from the Republic of Ireland and the remainder from elsewhere.

The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry was established by the Stormont Executive this time last year and will hold its first public evidence session today at Banbridge Courthouse in County Down.

It has a remit to investigate historical child abuse and/or neglect in institutions over a 73-year period up to 1995 and is currently investigating 13 establishments, including Kincora Boys' Home in Belfast.

Kincora was the scene of a notorious sex scandal and while three members of staff were convicted in the 1980s, questions remain about who knew what and why it continued.

The inquiry's chairman, Sir Anthony Hart, a retired senior high court judge, will make a short statement before an opening address from senior counsel to the inquiry, Christine Smith QC.

More than 300 witnesses are expected to give evidence during the public sessions, the majority in person although some may give their evidence in writing or via a live video-link.

Applications to participate in the statutory inquiry are now closed but potential witnesses can still apply to speak to the Acknowledgment Forum, a less formal evidence-gathering process operating in parallel.

The first "thematic module of evidence" will focus on two former institutions run by the Sisters of Nazareth: St Joseph's Home and Nazareth House Children's Home, both in County Londonderry.

The public hearings are expected to continue until June 2015 and under the terms of reference, the inquiry must complete its investigation by mid-summer and submit its report by January 2016.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obesity Crisis 'To Surpass Doomsday Scenario'

The true scale of Britain's obesity crisis may have been seriously underestimated, a report has found.

The National Obesity Forum said the UK is in danger of surpassing predictions of a 2007 report which estimated that 50% of the nation would be obese by 2050.

The organisation's latest report calls on health officials to introduce hard-hitting awareness campaigns - similar to those for smoking - to try to curb the problem.

It also called on family doctors to proactively discuss weight management with patients and to check waist circumferences.

The report said: "It is entirely reasonable to conclude that the determinations of the 2007 Foresight Report (i.e. that half the population might be obese by 2050 at an annual cost of nearly £50bn), while shocking at the time, may now underestimate the scale of the problem."

Professor David Haslam, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: "We're now seven years on from the Foresight Report. Not only is the obesity situation in the UK not improving, but the doomsday scenario set out in that report might underestimate the true scale of the problem.

"There needs to be concerted action. There is a lot more we can be doing by way of earlier intervention and to encourage members of the public to take sensible steps to help themselves - but this goes hand in hand with government leadership and ensuring responsible food and drink manufacturing and retailing."

Professor Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at Public Health England, said: "Obesity is an international problem. It is a complex issue that requires action at national, local, family and individual level.

"Everyone has a role to play in improving the health and wellbeing of the public, and children in particular. PHE are committed to helping to tackle obesity through a range of approaches that support action on the local environment to make eating less and being more physically active easier."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Fracking' Councils Could Pocket Millions

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

Financial rewards worth more than £1m a year will be given to councils which give permission for fracking projects in their areas.

The move, announced by David Cameron, has angered campaign groups opposed to the controversial method of extracting shale gas from deep underground.

The Prime Minister has declared that shale gas exploration is part of his long-term economic plan and says local authorities that allow drilling will receive 100% of the business rates collected from the scheme - double the current 50%.

Whitehall officials estimate that could be worth £1.7m extra a year for each site a council agrees.

The move coincides with French energy giant Total announcing it is investing millions of pounds in firms with drilling licences in the UK.

Anti-fracking protesters at a rally at a driling site in Salford on Sunday

The news is a blow for hundreds of people who object to fracking in their communities.

On Sunday, protesters from across the country took part in a march in Salford close to an exploratory drilling site in an area known as Barton Moss.

Among the campaigners was Jackie Anderson, a teacher who lives within a mile of the site.

She told Sky News: "For the local residents it's got no benefit whatsoever. More and more the businesses and the councils are going to benefit because the incentives are going to them and we're getting none of the benefits at all."

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is a process that involves drilling thousands of feet down into the earth to create a narrow well. Water and chemicals are then pumped in at high pressure to create fractures in the rock. Gas then flows from the cracks and is captured.

Vanessa Vine, who founded the British Anti-Fracking Action Network, travelled to Salford for the demonstration.

She has taken part in a long-running protest against a test site near her home in Balcombe, West Sussex.

The protest was against an exploratory drilling site known as Barton Moss

She told Sky News: "Concerns of local residents range from everything from heavy traffic through villages, damage to the roads, right up to triggering of earthquakes and permanent, potentially permanent contamination of the groundwater, of the aquifer, of drinking water."

The Government estimates the industry could attract £3.7bn a year in investment and support 74,000 jobs.

Last year, new data from the British Geological Survey showed up to double the amount of shale gas could be extracted in the UK than previously thought.

Then, the Government pledged to give local communities £100,000 for each test-drilling project and a further 1% of the revenues if shale gas was discovered.

It is thought there may be as much as 1,300 trillion cubic feet at the Bowland site in Lancashire alone.

Tory peer Lord Howell of Guildford sparked anger in northern communities in July by suggesting fracking should take place in "desolate areas" in the north, a comment for which he later apologised.

Announcing the latest financial incentives, David Cameron said: "A key part of our long-term economic plan to secure Britain's future is to back businesses with better infrastructure.

Vanessa Vine, founder of the British Anti-Fracking Action Network

"That's why we're going all out for shale. It will mean more jobs and opportunities for people, and economic security for our country."

Writing in the Sun on Sunday, business minister Michael Fallon said it could "drive down the cost of power for hard-working families and businesses".

But environmentalists have dismissed those claims.

Lawrence Carter, from Greenpeace, said: "This is a naked attempt by the government to bribe hard-pressed councils into accepting fracking in their area.

"Cameron is effectively telling councils to ignore the risks and threat of large-scale industrialisation in exchange for cold hard cash.

"But the proposal reveals just how worried the Government is about planning applications being turned down.

"Having had their claims that fracking will bring down energy bills and create jobs thoroughly discredited, the Government is now resorting to straight up bribery to sell their deeply unpopular fracking policy."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing 12-Year-Olds: Police Search For Girls

Police are searching for two 12-year-old girls reported missing after a walk to a local bus stop, Scotland Yard has said.

Friends Wiktoria Popiel, from Wood Green, and Vitalija Sidlauskaite, from Tottenham, north London, were last seen together on Morley Avenue in Wood Green at around 5pm on Saturday.

Wiktoria was walking Vitalija to a bus stop on nearby Lordship Lane but did not return home.

The pair were walking to this bus stop

The Metropolitan Police said they may have got on a bus towards Tottenham or have gone to the ice rink at Alexandra Palace.

A police spokesman said: "Their disappearance is completely out of character for both girls and they have never gone missing before.

"Their families and police are extremely concerned for their welfare and urge anyone who sees them or who has information about their whereabouts to call police on 101."

The street where the girls were last seen

Wiktoria was wearing glasses, a brown jacket with fur around the hood, blue jeans and blue trainers. She speaks English and Polish.

Vitalija was wearing blue jeans and a black jacket. She speaks English and Russian.

:: Watch Sky News live on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man Who Saved Two Sons Was 'Amazing Father'

The family of a man who died after rescuing his two children from strong currents at an Australian beach says they are "devastated" by his death.

Andrew Priestley, from Leicestershire, died in hospital after getting into difficulty at Burrill Beach, around 155 miles south of Sydney on Australia's east coast.

The 44-year-old was with his family when the tragedy happened at around noon on Friday.

"The family of Andrew are devastated about his death in Australia. He died after saving his children," the family said in a statement released by the Foreign Office.

"Andrew was the most amazing husband and father that any family could wish for.

"The support and messages we have received have been overwhelming and we are thankful for that.

"It is heartbreakingly impossible at this moment to imagine our lives without him. We would ask that our privacy is respected at such a sad time."

Emergency services at the scene on Friday

Mr Priestley lifted his sons onto a surfboard before onlookers ran into the water and brought them to safety.

He was then overcome by waves and was unconscious by the time emergency services arrived.

Police and paramedics tried to revive him on the beach. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Milton Hospital.

A statement from New South Wales Police Force said: "Emergency services were called to Burrill Beach just after midday, where they found a man unconscious.

"The 44-year-old was taken to Milton Hospital where he was pronounced dead."

It was the second drowning on the beach in two months, after a Filipino national died there in December.

:: Watch Sky News live on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq Torture Claims 'Go Right To The Top'

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The International Criminal Court has been asked to investigate allegations of abuse and torture by British soldiers in Iraq, Sky News has learned.

It is understood that a German human rights organisation and a British law firm have presented a dossier to the ICC containing accusations of more than 1,000 cases of torture against Iraqi civilians, and 200 cases of unlawful killings, including many in custody.

The Berlin-based European Centre for Constitutional Rights and Britain-based Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) will launch their case at an event in London on Tuesday.

Phil Shiner, a solicitor from PIL, told Sky News: "This is historic. The UK has never been investigated by the ICC. There is clear evidence this goes right to the top."

The British Government has set up a body to investigate accusations of abuse arising from the Iraq conflict.

The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) investigates allegations of abuse against Iraqi civilians by British troops between 2003 and 2009.

It is led by a retired detective and is due to complete its investigations by the end of 2016.

Commenting on the reports, the Ministry of Defence said: "These matters are either under thorough investigation or have been dealt with through various means including through the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, independent public inquiries, the UK and European courts and in Parliament.

"As such, further action through the ICC is unnecessary when the issues and allegations are already known to the UK Government, action is in hand and the UK courts have already issued judgments.

"Should we be approached by the ICC, we will take the opportunity to explain the very extensive work under way to deal with historic allegations of abuse.

"We reject the suggestion that the UK's Armed Forces - who operate in line with domestic and international law - have systematically tortured detainees.

"But of course the UK Government regrets the small number of cases where abuses have taken place.

"Wherever allegations have been substantiated, we have compensated victims and their families."

:: Watch Sky News live on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Armed Forces Launch New Recruitment Drive

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The British Armed Forces have launched a new recruitment campaign in an attempt to reverse the dwindling number of new entrants, particularly to the Army Reserve.

Television, radio, cinema and print adverts will be broadcast and published nationally.

Titled 'More Than Meets The Eye', the ads aim to demonstrate the wide range of roles available in the military after a survey carried out by the Ministry of Defence revealed that nearly one in four Britons were unhappy with their current career.

The research, carried out by OnePoll on behalf of the army, also found that many people were unaware of the diversity of jobs on offer.

Of the 2,000 people polled, 28% thought Army Reserves would not get paid, while 40% did not think a commitment to the reserves was flexible, and 40% also thought signing up to the army was a lifetime commitment.

The campaign hopes to capitalise on New Year's resolutions which see people wanting to transform their lives and careers.

Commenting on it, Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall, said: "The Army offers people unique opportunities for challenge and adventure, both at home and overseas, during peacetime and on operations.

"It develops personal qualities that are key to success in any walk of life: leadership, judgement, determination, and physical stamina."

A new simplified online application form, a more streamlined medical clearance process, and an Army fitness app, will all also be launched this month.

The campaign is just the latest attempt by the military to boost recruitment numbers and there is much riding on it.

The Ministry of Defence's last Quarterly Personnel Report showed that the number of Reservists decreased between July and September 2013.

By the end of that period there were 1,630 fewer Reservists than at the beginning.

The total strength of the Reserve Force, which includes the Maritime Reserve and Royal Auxiliary Air Force is 21,870, of which the Army Reserve makes up 19,090.

The MoD has committed to increasing the size of the Army Reserve to 35,000 by 2015 - despite recent poor figures, senior officials are adamant they will achieve that target.

A total of £1.8bn has been committed over 10 years to supplement training and equipment for reserve soldiers in order that they receive the same level of kit as their regular counterparts.

A fourth tranche of redundancies will be announced later this month.

Around 5,000 people will be affected, almost exclusively in the Army.

Although running a recruitment campaign alongside a redundancy scheme might seem illogical, the MoD explains that it must always maintain a constant flow of younger, junior recruits to train for the future.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Flood Warnings As River Levels Set To Rise

Homeowners in southern England have been warned to prepare for further flooding today after heavy rainfall caused the River Thames to burst its banks.

The Environment Agency (EA) has warned people living along the lower reaches of the Thames to be aware of the risk of rising water levels.

Further flooding is expected over the weekend in Oxfordshire, West Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey as recent rainfall flows downstream.

There are also risks of flooding along the River Parret in Somerset and the River Severn in the Midlands.

Residents in Dorset, south Wiltshire, Hampshire and West Sussex have also been warned of likely flooding caused by high groundwater levels.

Flooding seen in the village of Muchelney, in Somerset

The EA has issued 94 flood warnings - meaning immediate action is required due to expected flooding - and 151 flood alerts across England.

The agency estimates that some 570 properties have been flooded since the New Year, while a further 239,000 properties have been protected by flood defences.

"Communities along the River Thames, particularly below Oxford, into Berkshire and through Surrey need to remain vigilant for further flooding," said the agency's head of incident management, John Curtin.

"River levels on the Thames are high and will continue to rise for the next few days and we urge people keep up to date with the latest flood warnings and take action.

"With so much standing water around, we would also remind people to stay out of flood water and not attempt to walk or drive through it."

Flood warnings along the River Thames (Pic: Environment Agency)

The Thames burst its banks on Friday, forcing homeowners to carry out clean-up operations and protect their homes from damage.

Parts of the river, stretching from Buscot in Oxfordshire to Bourne End in Buckinghamshire, were under flood warnings as heavy rain over recent days caused river levels to rise.

Residents were warned on Thursday to expect flooding, with many moving belongings to prevent damage.

Many homes close to the banks are underwater, with flood waters causing damage to ground floors and gardens.

Affected areas included Marlow and Cookham in Buckinghamshire, as well as Shiplake and Wargrave in Berkshire and parts of south Oxford.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

PCSO In Custody On Rape And Blackmail Charges

A police community support officer has been charged with rape, blackmail and misconduct in a public office.

Kabeer Yousaf, 30, a PCSO based in the London Borough of Newham, was charged on Saturday, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Parking Tickets: Five-Minute Grace Period Plan

By Tadhg Enright, Sky News Reporter

A five-minute grace period for motorists who overstay their parking is on a list of proposals being considered by the Government to make parking enforcement fairer.

Many councils say they already allow motorists to stay for a few minutes longer before writing a ticket but it is a grey area which would be cleared up if written into law.

Transport Minister Robert Goodwill said: "The Government is committed to reining in over-zealous parking enforcement and unjust parking practices. It is not fair to motorists and needs to stop.

"We have also recently launched a public consultation proposing a number of changes to make sure local authorities are not short-changing motorists and operate in a fair manner.

"These changes could see the end of CCTV being used for on-street parking, unnecessary yellow lines and the introduction of compulsory 'grace periods' at the end of paid on-street parking."

The proposed changes follow a report by MPs on the Transport Select Committee into problems with parking enforcement that give motorists the perception that fines are imposed simply to raise revenue for local authorities.

Chairperson Louise Ellman MP told Sky News: "People get very concerned when they're paying out penalty charges. Sometimes they think that they were misled and that signs were not clear. 

"And often they believe that those charges are levied for the purpose of raising revenue. It would actually be illegal to do that so councils have to be much more transparent about what money they raise."

The Government is also planning to make signage clearer so motorists do not get confused about local parking enforcement rules.

Councils will have to prepare annual reports in which they reveal how much income they make from parking charges and fines.

They will also be reminded that parking fines are not a "cash cow" and should not be used to raise money for council spending.

Cllr David Simmonds, chair of the Local Government Association, told Sky News: "Local councils receive about £500m a year in income from motorists for parking and penalty charges, all of which is spent on roads and transport. 

"The Treasury received about £45bn a year in taxes from motorists, of which about £10bn goes back into transport, so it's pretty clear that the taxpayer isn't getting as great a deal from central government as they are from local government."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More