Millions Stress About Finances 'Every Day'

By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

In the UK, 18.1 million people feel stressed about their finances every day, according to new research seen by Sky News.

Financial worries are even greater than concerns over health, or even job security, the data from MoneySuperMarket shows.

In a poll of 2,005 British adults, 19% said it is their current financial situation which is the main cause of stress, and a further 17% say it is their future financial situation.

Only 13% say they are most stressed out by their health, and 11% by their job.

Clare Francis, editor-in-chief at MoneySupermarket, said: "Anxiety about money is on the rise for many adults.

"We've experienced a difficult economic climate in 2013, with the cost of living rising, interest rates remaining low, rents remaining high, and wages remaining the same.

"Unfortunately, I expect that the New Year will be just as tough."

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's recently upgraded their estimates for UK growth to 1.4% this year and 2.4% next year, higher than its previous 0.8% and 1.5% forecasts.

Despite this, nearly 75% of those surveyed believe their money stress will get worse next year.

According to the research, 52% of adults said they frequently or occasionally worry about the state of their finances, with women worrying more than men.

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Smacking Children Should Be Banned, Says Tsar

Parents should be banned from smacking their children, according to the Children's Commissioner for England.

Maggie Atkinson told The Independent it was her personal view that the law gives pets and adults more rights to be protected from violence than children.

Dr Atkinson said she favours a total ban on smacking, which would see parents face criminal action for corporal punishment.

Current rules make it illegal for a parent to smack a child if it leaves a bruise, but permit a lighter smack or "reasonable chastisement".

Dr Atkinson said: "Personally, having been a teacher, and never having had an issue where I'd need to use physical punishment, I believe we should move to ban it.

"Because in law you are forbidden from striking another adult, and from physically chastising your pets, but somehow there is a loophole around the fact that you can physically chastise your child."

She added: "It's a moral issue. The morals are that, taken to its extreme, physical chastisement is actually physical abuse and I have never understood where you can draw the line between one and the other."

Dr Atkinson, who has two adult step-children, said that despite her strong feelings about the issue, her office was not planning to fight for a ban next year.

She said in the current climate such a move would be "running up a blind alley".

Her comments are likely to re-open the debate about what constitutes "reasonable" punishment of children, the newspaper said.

Tottenham MP David Lammy said early last year that legislation surrounding the smacking of children needed to be relaxed so working-class parents could instil discipline in their homes without fearing prosecution.

He claimed that Labour's 2004 decision to tighten up the smacking law was partly to blame for last summer's riots, which erupted in his north London constituency.

The former education minister said: "Many of my constituents came up to me after the riots and blamed the Labour government, saying, 'You guys stopped us being able to smack our children.'

"I have to say when this was first raised with me I was pretty disparaging. But I started to listen.

"These parents are scared to smack their children and paranoid that social workers will get involved and take their children away."

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Warning After 'Speckled Rolex' Ecstasy Death

An urgent warning about a yellow ecstasy tablet known as "speckled rolex" has been issued after a man died at a house party in Northern Ireland.

Police said the victim was confirmed dead at a house in Twinbrook, Belfast, at around 7.40pm on Friday night.

His identity has not been released.

Four other men have been taken to hospital, where their condition is said to be stable.

The death has been linked with the drug and a post-mortem examination will be carried out later on Saturday.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is appealing for anyone in possession of tablets to dispose of them immediately.

It comes after eight deaths in Belfast and Antrim earlier this year were linked to the taking of "green rolex" tablets, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

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Andrew Wyatt: Body Found In New Zealand

Rescue crews in New Zealand searching for a British hiker who went missing two weeks ago have found a body under a cliff.

They said the body had not been formally identified as that of Andrew Wyatt but it was discovered at the foot of a 100-metre (330ft) precipice that was on the 41-year-old's intended route.

Mr Wyatt, from Cornwall, was last seen on December 15 in the Nelson Lakes National Park embarking on what was supposed to be a one-day hike to pick up supplies.

Poor weather stopped searchers from reaching the remote area until Friday, when an air force helicopter dropped in four specialised alpine rescue crews who made the grim find.

Nelson Lakes national park

Nelson Search and Rescue (NSAR) said the section between where Mr Wyatt was last seen and where he was heading was "one of the more remote and difficult parts" of the trail.

NSAR coordinator Sherp Tucker said: "It's rugged, it's remote and the weather can change so much.

"It's a frequent place for the rescue helicopter to go to beacon activations for people who are hurt."

Mr Wyatt arrived in New Zealand in November and was walking the 3,000-kilometre (1,900-mile) Te Araroa Trail, which runs along the entire length of the country, when he went missing. 

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Sales: Shoppers Ready For More Bargain Hunting

Bargain-hungry shoppers are expected to spend nearly £3bn today on the second day of the post-Christmas sales.

The amount of money spent is predicted to be more than the estimated £2.7bn spent in shops and online on Boxing Day.

High streets should see a repeat of some of the frenzied scenes witnessed yesterday as shoppers queued for hours to get the best bargains.

A total of £2.22bn was projected to have been spent in stores on Thursday, up 5.7% on last year, according to the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).

Online shoppers spent £540m - a new daily record - on Boxing Day, up 15% on last year, IMRG, the internet retailers' association, said.

Many people queued from before dawn in London

Total spending on Friday could be even higher, with shops expected to take £2.57bn - up more than 7% on last year's £2.4bn on December 27.

Online sales are expected to peak £400m.

Thousands of people hit British high streets yesterday for the traditional Boxing Day sales, with international tourists out in force and spending big.

Many keen bargain-hunters started queuing before dawn to ensure they were first in line when the shops opened.

Shoppers are predicted to spend £2.5bn in the high street on Friday

Selfridges on Oxford Street in central London saw some of the largest queues.

As 3,500 shoppers surrounded the huge shopping emporium, it was apparent the queue was made up of people from all around the world - particularly from China.

The significant presence of international shoppers was confirmed by Global Blue tax-free shopping experts.

Shoppers from Qatar spend the most on average per transaction (£1,714) followed by those from the United Arab Emirates (£1,372).

But a spokesman said Chinese shoppers are the biggest spenders overall.

They spend £1,367 on average per transaction, but are more likely to return to the tills with more goods.

Selfridges celebrated its most successful ever first hour of trade, taking over £1.9m between 9am and 10am - up 16% compared with last year.

Harrods also kicked off its winter sale and offered mugs of hot chocolate, smoked salmon canapes and blankets to keep people warm in the queue.

Department store Liberty offered designer goods at a fraction of their usual price, while both Next and Marks & Spencer boasted discounts of up to 50% on sale items.

Bluewater in Kent predicted more than 800,000 people would come through its doors between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.

More than 1.4 million shoppers are expected to spend a total of more than £50m in London's West End today.

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Weather: Ireland And UK Battered By Storms

Storms with 100mph winds battered Britain and Ireland last night, causing flights to be diverted and downing trees - as more flood warnings were issued.

Days after heavy rain and gales lashed the UK, disrupting the Christmas travel plans of thousands of people, the Met Office has once again issued severe weather warnings.

The Environment Agency map showing flood warnings and alerts in the UK

Southeastern trains said it would not be running any services until further notice, while Virgin, East Coast and Southern trains also warned of travel disruption.

There were also no trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Airport, or between Victoria to Gatwick Airport.

Flights were also diverted and cancelled overnight, with Dublin Airport not allowing aircraft to leave due to the gale force winds.

A tweet from the airport said: "No flight departures so far this morning due to gale force winds blowing across both runways."

Cheshire Police said many trees had been uprooted as gales swept across the county.

The Bognor Regis rail route was closed after this landslip at Ockley

"Many trees down due to strong winds. We would ask all drivers to exercise extreme caution whilst driving tonight," the force tweeted.

The storm is forecast to spread east across the UK during the morning, with the worst-affected areas expected to be northern England and northern parts of Wales.

This landslip also blocked the line on the Brighton Main Line near Redhill

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Police and fire services across the country have reported road closures because of uprooted trees, and in the Irish Republic, Dublin Airport had to divert six planes because of strong winds.

Gatwick Airport said it had "additional teams of engineers, electrical staff and volunteers at the airport to minimise the risk of disruption".

The Environment Agency (EA) is warning of more "significant disruption" across southern England.

A spokesperson for the agency said: "It is possible that heavy rain may worsen the current flooding situation in some areas with rivers responding quickly to rain falling on already saturated ground."

The rain will exacerbate ongoing river flooding across the Somerset Levels, River Severn, River Thames and River Ouse in Cambridgeshire and rivers across Essex.

A man removes items from his home after flooding in Tonbridge

It will also worsen the situation along the River Medway and the Kentish Stour around Ashford and Canterbury.

There are 52 flood warnings and 160 flood alerts in place, but the EA said the number of alerts may increase as rivers respond to the further band of rainfall.

The Met Office recorded a gust of wind in Aberdaron, in west Wales, of 109mph early this morning.

A man paddles his canoe past a flooded property in Yalding

General wind speeds of between 60mph and 80mph are expected in the UK.

More than 43,000 people were left without power following Monday night's storm and around 1,200 properties were flooded in England.

According to ESB Networks, in Ireland, some 70,000 homes and businesses are understood to be without power with engineers dealing with hundreds of individual faults.

Met Eireann imposed red alert warnings in the south and eastern parts, with Wexford, Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Waterford experiencing the worst of the stormy weather.

AA Roadwatch described driving conditions on Ireland's country roads as "treacherous" - and advised motorists to drive with extreme care.

Northern Ireland Electricity also said it had around 4,000 customers without power.

Network Rail advises that routes will need to be checked at first light and tracks will need to be cleared of any fallen trees and any damage will need repaired before train services can start.

Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations at Network Rail, said: "Passengers have had a tough week of travelling and unfortunately that is likely to continue for at least another day.

"Thousands of railway workers have worked tirelessly over the holiday period to try and repair the significant damage caused by Monday's storm and will be called on again over the next 24 hours.

"As ever, safety comes first, as we ensure routes are safe for passenger services leading to a delayed start-up in some regions."

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Fox Hunts To Ride Out For Boxing Day Meets

Thousands of supporters are expected to attend Boxing Day hunts across the UK today as a poll shows 80% of people remain opposed to hunting with dogs for sport.

Some 250 hunts will ride out on the biggest day of the hunting calendar, some following an artificial scent while others are expected to hunt foxes within the law.

Groups of hunt saboteurs are also expected to be out in force, monitoring hunts they believe will try to flout the law and hunt foxes illegally.

The poll suggests opinions on hunting are the same in urban and rural areas

The survey commissioned by animal welfare organisation The League Against Cruel Sports reveals 80% of the public think hunting should not be made legal again.

In October, David Cameron said he had "some sympathies" with farmers demanding the use of packs of hounds to flush out foxes if they threatened livestock. Once driven out, the foxes could be shot.

Downing Street suggested it might introduce a government motion to amend the 2004 ban on hunting by relaxing rules that say farmers can only use two dogs to hunt.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said he was particularly worried about hill farmers who have suffered heavy losses of livestock that is threatening their livelihoods.

Joe Duckworth, chief executive of The League Against Cruel Sports, said: "Hunting is a sickeningly cruel blood sport, which, like us, the majority of the British public do not want brought back.

"Voting for repeal would be political suicide. We need to move forward as a nation, not backwards on matters of animal welfare."

The survey, carried out by Ipsos MORI, also suggests that on the issue of legalising fox hunting, there is no difference between people living in rural areas and those in urban areas.

Gavin Grant, chief executive of the RSPCA, which also commissioned the survey, said: "As a rural dweller I have always known that opposition to hunting with dogs has never been an issue of 'town versus country'. This poll proves it once and for all.

"The message to MPs is loud and clear. Hunting wild animals with dogs is unethical, inhumane and cruel."

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Abbas Khan: Funeral For Syria-Death Doctor

The funeral of British doctor Abbas Khan - who died in custody in Syria - is due to take place in London today.

Dr Khan was on the verge of being released when his family were told of his death by what the Syrian government calls suicide - but they say it was political murder.

The 32-year-old orthopaedic surgeon, from London, was captured in November last year in the Syrian city of Aleppo after travelling from Turkey to help victims of hospital bombings.

His death was announced on December 17.

Dr Khan's mother Fatima

Dr Khan's family released a statement via their solicitor Nabeel Sheikh, announcing plans for the funeral and burial.

He said: "Dr Abbas Khan's funeral prayer will take place at midday on Boxing Day at Regent's Park Mosque, London.

"Dr Khan will then be taken to Ilford, east London, to be laid to rest. Anyone who wishes to pay their respects is welcome to attend."

The doctor's mother Fatima denied claims made by Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad that her son killed himself.

The PM wrote a letter to Dr Khan's family

Earlier this month, the family revealed a letter in which the doctor expressed his optimism at being released and his hopes of being home in time for Christmas.

On Sunday, David Cameron wrote a letter to Dr Khan's mother, describing her son's death as an "appalling tragedy" and calling for those responsible to be held to account.

Dr Abbas leaves behind his wife Hanna, 30, son Abdullah, six, and daughter Rurayya, seven.

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Bargain Hunters Flock To Boxing Day Sales

Bargain hunters are set to flock to the high streets in their thousands today as shops open for the Boxing Day sales.

Shoppers had already started queuing before 7am to ensure they were first in line when the shops open.

Harrods is kicking off its winter sale with the promise of mugs of hot chocolate, smoked salmon canapes and blankets to keep people warm in the queue.

They will also be serenaded by a string quartet and be treated to a performance by a street magician.

However, online sales are predicted to steal away some of the crowds.

House of Fraser, Harvey Nichols, Debenhams and John Lewis all launched their sales online on Christmas Eve.

Shopping habits are changing, according to analysts

A survey by Barclaycard found that almost a third (31%) of shoppers planned to scour the web for bargains on Christmas Day, but only 27% are expected to make the trip to the stores on Boxing Day.

Consumer expert Jasmine Birtles, from Moneymagpie.com, said it's an act of "desperation" that large brands are clamouring for Boxing Day sales.

She said: "I think it's a mark of desperation that even the big names are going, 'look, we're on sale now, come and spend your money with us before you spend it anywhere else'.

"Because I think the shops are very aware that people have limited budgets now and they want a piece of that budget before anyone else does." 

Some 117 million visits to retail websites were estimated to have been made on Wednesday in the UK, with Boxing Day's figure set to rise to over 118 million.

Despite the change in shopping habits, today's sales are still expected to bring in around £2.6 billion, according to Verdict Research.

Robert Goodman, Bluewater's general manager, said the company is preparing for a "bumper Boxing Day" this year.

"With the strongest retail offer to date, and with 50 new brands launching with us this year, we are expecting visitor numbers to be on a par with Boxing Day last year.

"This will begin what is likely to be our busiest six days of the year."

James Murray, digital insight manager at Experian, said: "Christmas 2013 has consistently outperformed 2012 on virtually every single shopping day this December, with online visits from Christmas Eve through to Boxing Day up from last year, a record-breaking Cyber Monday and the emergence of the even busier Middle Cyber Monday.

"Shopping habits are changing, with Christmas Day becoming a significant shopping day during the period.

"As a result, we anticipate a more sustained shopping pattern during this period, moving away from the traditional peaks and troughs usually evident during holiday season."

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Christmas Benefit Payments: Thousands Miss Out

Tens of thousands of people have not received benefit payments in time for Christmas.

The money for jobseekers, low earners and pensioners was due to arrive in accounts on Tuesday, but will now not arrive until Friday 27.

Up to 32,000 people are believed to be affected. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) blamed an administration error.

Those affected include new claimants, those owed arrears, and people awarded Social Fund budgeting loans for essentials such as clothes, rent and furniture.

The DWP said that if individuals had contacted them by 5pm last night the payment would have been rushed through within three hours.

A spokesman said: "The vast majority of regular benefit payments have been made on time this Christmas.

"However due to an administrative issue, a number of one-off or more irregular payments will now be paid on December 27 rather than December 24.

"We have procedures in place to ensure that anyone who has been affected by this and who contacted us would have had their benefits paid, usually within three hours.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

A total of 32,200 people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment Support Allowance, Social Fund and certain categories of pension could have been hit by the delay, the spokesman said.

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