Parties Reel From UKIP Election Success

UKIP's haul of seats in the council elections is up to 184 with the main parties now mulling the prospect of four-party politics in next year's general election.

Nigel Farage has said his anti-EU party is a "serious player" for 2015 after they added 167 councillors at the expense of the Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats.

UKIP made gains in traditional Labour and Conservative heartlands, including strong showings in Rotherham - where it returned 10 out of 21 councillors.

It also got a big thumbs thumbs up from 'Essex Man' with a strong showing in areas such as Thurrock, Castle Point and Basildon.

However, it still does not have overall control of any council, and fared particularly poorly in London

Nigel Farage claims the 'UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse'

Mr Farage told the leaders of the main parties he would "see them in Westminster" and said the results showed UKIP had the potential to cause an "earthquake" at the general election.

"The UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse," he claimed.

"If voters think we are in with a chance of winning next year, then we are."

Sky News projections suggest UKIP would only return one MP next year - its first, but the possibility of it building momentum and wooing more voters over the next year is a major headache for party leaders.

The state of play with just two councils still to announce their results

The Prime Minister conceded the Conservatives had to start delivering on immigration and welfare reform, and said the public had become "frustrated" with the status quo.

Critics have also rounded on Labour leader Ed Miliband, saying he failed to mount a serious campaign to tackle UKIP and pointing to a series of PR blunders in the run up to polling day.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the public had grown 'frustrated'

Mr Miliband, who has promised to help families cut living costs through policies such as freezing energy prices, was accused of being out of touch when he underestimated the cost of a weekly food shop.

Labour's election was far from a disaster - it gained control of five more councils in the election - but the gains are thought to be some way from the shot in the arm the party needs to head towards an overall majority in 2015.

Another hung parliament could be on the cards if voters go the same way in 2015, with Sky projections pointing towards Labour falling short by 18 MPs.

Ed Miliband made several PR gaffes in the run-up to the election

The Liberal Democrats also had a dismal election night as voters ensured Nick Clegg's party lost control of councils in Kingston-Upon-Thames and Portsmouth.

Mr Clegg admitted the party had done badly but said: "Actually I think in the areas where we have MPs where we have good organisation on the ground ... we are actually doing well."

UKIP made gains in areas of Essex such as Southend, where it won five seats

With 159 or 161 councils now declared, Labour have won 3,999 seats, giving it control of 81 councils - an increase of five.

The Conservatives have 2,679 seats overall, controlling 41 councils - down 13; and the Liberal Democrats picked up 882 seats, seeing the number of councils under their control falling from eight to six.

The focus now moves to Sunday night when the count will come in for the European election.

:: Follow all the results as they come in on Twitter with @skyelections.

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Labour Badly Bruised By UKIP In Stronghold

Why The Only Way For Essex Is UKIP

Updated: 8:12pm UK, Friday 23 May 2014

By Jason Farrell, Political Correspondent

Standing by the roadside in their purple rosettes are two retired Essex men, Malcolm Elliott and Dave Morrish. They are brothers-in-law, both living in Thurrock.

One is a right-wing Thatcherite - the other a former left-wing activist who emigrated when Margaret Thatcher was in power.

They have never agreed on politics until now. Now they are waiting for their hero of the hour to arrive, Nigel Farage.

As the anticipation builds, Malcolm tells me: "I've been a socialist all my life but not anymore because nobody's listening."

"What do you think of Ed Miliband?" I ask.

"I don't frankly. I don't believe in any of them anymore."

His brother-in-law Dave agrees. "I voted Tory for 47 years. But I feel it doesn't matter if you vote Tory, Labour or the Lib Dems, what you're going to get is the EU and that's what I don't want. Renegotiation is a nonsense. Every European treaty states that it's not negotiable."

In the local elections UKIP has increased its number of seats in Thurrock from one to six, meaning the council is no longer controlled by Labour. Thanks to UKIP the Conservatives also lost control of Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point and Southend: Essex man is becoming UKIP man.

As Mr Farage arrives the activists can hardly reach him for the cameras. The UKIP leader tells reporters his success in Essex does not mean he will stand for a seat here.

He also fields a number of questions about why his party failed to make the same impact down the road in London, where they only got 7% of the vote.

"We have a weak voluntary structure in London," he says. "We haven't built it. We haven't developed it. We haven't had the right local leaders. Once we get the right local Leaders we will start having results like this in London."

In previous elections this seat has seesawed from red to blue. The nearby parade of shops tells its own story of a community in decline. A pound shop, a Boots, a butcher's and a Greggs are among a row of otherwise boarded and shuttered facades. The butcher tells me that in the last five years for every shop that has closed, nothing has replaced them.

In Thurrock more than one in five children live in poverty. There has been a 200% increase in the use of food banks in recent months. If Ed Miliband's message about the "cost of living crisis" were to resonate anywhere, you would think it would be here. But instead they are more interested in what Mr Farage has to say about the EU and immigration.

In the local coffee shop I ask a group of pensioners why that is. "In this area we've swung between Labour and the Conservatives," says one man. "And what have either of them done for us? They've put their pay up 11% while our pensions have gone up 1%." There are six of them round the table and they all support UKIP.

The current MP is conservative Jackie Doyle-Price. With a shock of bleach-blonde hair and an upbringing on a Sheffield estate, she is far from fitting the Tories characterisation of Etonian established elite, and she is not someone to trot out the agreed party message.   

"There's been a definite mood on the doorstep of people saying the political classes don't speak to us anymore and if you look at the Westminster debate it's become very managerial, very bland, and along come UKIP with some populist messages and people say to themselves, let's give the main political parties a good kicking, and they have."

The overall mood is that Thurrock feels neglected and ignored by Westminster and therefore easily swept along by a new political wind. It seems, for many in Essex, the only way is UKIP.

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Glasgow Art School Blaze: Salvage Operation

Firefighters battling a blaze at a historic art school building in Glasgow say they have managed to save the majority of its contents, including student art work.

Crews were called to reports of a blaze at Glasgow School of Art's Charles Rennie Mackintosh building at about 12.30pm on Friday.

It is believed the fire started in the basement and spread to the upper floors where flames were seen leaping from windows and the roof.

Firefighters who were at the scene within four minutes of receiving the first emergency call brought the fire under control and said more than 90% of the structure was "viable".

Flames can clearly be seen coming from the windows. Pic: @xdxxnx/Twitter

Indications are that they also protected up to 70% of the contents, according to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

It is not known which artworks have been saved.

There were no casualties but a number of people had to be helped from the Category A listed building on the corner of Renfrew Street and Scott Street.

Sky's James Matthews said the blaze is believed to have broken out while final year students were preparing their end of year degree shows on the upper floors.

Many of the students were in tears as they witnessed their efforts go up in smoke.

Broadcaster Muriel Gray, a former student and current chairwoman of the school, was another who burst into tears as she arrived and saw the building in flames.

The art school, designed by the famous Scottish architect and dating from 1897, is a tourist attraction and is regarded as a building of "national or international importance".

Broadcaster and current art school Chairwoman Muriel Gray was in tears

It attracts around 20,000 visitors a year, with tours given of the building.

Hugh Thornhill, a second year student, said: "I was helping one of the fourth years set up their exhibit and suddenly the alarm went off. We saw smoke coming out and realised that it was really bad."

As well as renowned artists, former students include members of the bands Travis and Franz Ferdinand, Architect and TV presenter George Clarke and actors Peter Capaldi and Robbie Coltrane.

Travis lead singer Fran Healy tweeted: "Man the mac library is all wood!!!! And loads of paper!! Man!!"

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art. Pic: Finlay McWalter

George Clarke said: "Devastating to see the Glasgow School of Art in flames...I'll support its full restoration in any way."

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) described the blaze as "an international tragedy".

Fire brigade assistant chief officer Dave Boyle said crews worked " absolutely flat out" in an effort to save "this treasured building and many of the items it housed".

He said: "While the priority from the outset was to save life we have also been working closely with GSA staff to ensure firefighters conducted an effective salvage operation.

"Work to save everything that can be saved is ongoing and we will continue to work closely with GSA staff and students throughout this operation."

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Sex Offenders Face Lie Detector Tests

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs and Education Editor

A thousand of the UK's most high-risk sex offenders are to undergo mandatory lie detector tests, under new measures announced by the ministry for justice today.

Probation officers are being trained in how to use polygraph examiners as part of new measures to toughen up the monitoring of convicted paedophiles and reduce the danger they pose to the public.

Don Grubin, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Newcastle University, whose company Behavioural Measures is leading the training, said: "The aim of the testing is to assist offender managers in supervising the offenders.

Dr Grubin says the tests will help the monitoring of offenders

"There is not a specific crime you are investigating, not a specific security breach, it's much more of a general tool to look at how they are behaving under supervision and to see whether there is a need to intervene."

"It's important to emphasise that nobody will be recalled because they failed a test ... polygraph testing both facilitates the disclosure of information and alerts offender managers to possible deception, allowing them to work with offenders in a more focused way."

A group of seven officers will administer the tests to sex offenders deemed at high risk of reoffending or convicted of the most serious offences, in a 12-week training programme administered by polygraph experts from the US, where use of the devices is much more common.

As well as undergoing lie detector tests every six months, the Government has also announced plans to use satellite tags and controversial libido suppressant drugs, also known as "chemical castration".

Sex offenders already have to abide by licence conditions, including signing onto the sex offenders register, adhering to exclusion zones, curfews, internet restrictions and non-contact orders.

Polygraph tests will be used regularly on high-risk sex offenders

But there are hopes that the addition of lie detector tests will help probation services better monitor the risk of reoffending.

Justice minister Jeremy Wright said: "We are determined that Britain has one of hte toughest regimes in the world for managing sex offenders, to stop reoffending and to protect victims."

According to the most recent figures there are 43,664 registered sex offenders in the UK. Reoffending rates have been a persistent cause for concern, with 13% of adults convicted of a sex offence committing further offences.

This is the first time that mandatory lie detector testing will be used by probation services across the UK, but the Government says that a pilot conducted between 2009 and 2011 in the East and West Midlands found that those who took the tests were twice as likely to admit having breached the terms of their licence or having thoughts that suggested they continued to pose a risk.

Two police forces are already are also using lie detectors for people arrested on suspicion of indecent images of children.  

But the use of polygraphs remains controversial, with some concerned about the reliability of the devices.

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Tragic Sailors: Skipper 'Dearly Missed'

The family of yachtsman Andrew Bridge say they are "deeply saddened" by the discovery of the upturned hull of the missing boat Cheeki Rafiki.

The search for the four British sailors ended at 3am UK time after a search of the capsized vessel found the only realistic means of survival had not been deployed.

Mr Bridge, the yacht skipper, was one of four men on board the boat which got into trouble on May 15.

From left: Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male and Paul Goslin

The family statement said: "Andrew will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the families of the rest of the crew on the Cheeki Rafiki.

"We would like to thank everyone who's helped in the search for Andrew including the US Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard, the RAF, Merchant vessels, the yachting community and the British and American Governments."

The raft was found stored in the aft of the boat Pic: US Coast Guard

It added that they had been "overwhelmed" by public support.

US Navy divers found the boat with a missing keel and a completely flooded cabin with shattered windows, said the Coast Guard.

"A US Navy warship smallboat crew and surface swimmer captured underwater imagery clearly identifying the raft in its storage space [behind the wheel]. The image was shared with and acknowledged by the families," said a statement.

"The crew and swimmer deployed to investigate the overturned boat after a helicopter crew located it 1,000 miles offshore Massachusetts and within the US Coast Guard's search area.

The search effort involved military aircraft and ships

It had already been announced that the search would be called off in the early hours of Saturday if no signs of possible survival were discovered.

"None of the current developments" indicate the crew are still alive, said the US Coast Guard.

The upturned 40ft yacht had been found on Friday, with divers first knocking on the hull to check for signs of life.

The men's familes had campaigned for the search to go on

The families had said they were still hopeful their loved ones would be found.

Relatives of Steve Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, said they had been told "endless stories" of people surviving for months at sea.

A statement on behalf of Steve Warren's family said it was an "incredibly difficult" time and that the search effort had been "exceptional".

The Cheeki Rafiki had been at a regatta in Antigua

The vessel ran into difficulties on May 15 and began taking on water while returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua.

Yacht training and charter company Stormforce Coaching said it had been in contact with the skipper at the time, and that the crew were keeping the situation stable.

The original search was halted after 53 hours amid bad weather but resumed on Tuesday after a request from the UK government and a online petition which collected more than 200,000 names.

Rescuers scoured more than 21,000 square miles of ocean during their second search for the boat.

Experts had agreed it would be impossible for the crew to survive outside of the life raft in cold, rough seas for more than 20 hours.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "My thoughts are with the families of the crew of the Cheeky Rafiki after the sad news its hull has been found with the life-raft unused."

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Fire Crews Battle Glasgow City Centre Blaze

Firefighters are tackling a serious blaze at a historic building belonging to the Glasgow School of Art in the city centre.

Crews were called to reports of a fire at the Charles Rennie Mackintosh building at about 12.30pm, and were on the scene within four minutes according to the brigade.

The area around Renfrew Street has been cordoned off.

Smoke can be seen billowing from the building, and four fire engines are involved in the effort to bring the flames under control.

A post on Twitter from the School of Art said: "The Mackintosh building is on fire, all have been evacuated & we will post updates as we get them. Currently setting up an incident number."

More follows...

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Stuart Hall Jailed For Sex Assaults On Girl

Ex-broadcaster Stuart Hall has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for indecently assaulting an underage girl.

The former It's A Knockout presenter had been convicted of carrying out an attack on the youngster by a jury at Preston Crown Court.

He was found guilty last week of assaulting her when she was under 16.

Hall, 84, had earlier pleaded guilty to another indecent assault on the same girl when she was 13.

That involved an incident at a dinner party where he crept into his victim's bedroom and assaulted her.

Passing sentence, Lord Justice Turner said of his offences: "It was an act of vile bravado and horrible betrayal."

The victim sat metres away and began wiping away tears with a handkerchief passed to her, as details of the offences were again mentioned in court.

Hall was sentenced to 12 months for the offence he admitted and was given an additional 18 months for the indecent assault of which he was convicted by the jury.

Last week, he was cleared of 15 counts of rape in relation to that woman and another who claimed they were sexually assaulted by him between 1976 and 1981.

The married father-of-two is currently in prison serving a 30-month term.

He had been jailed after he pleaded guilty last year to indecently assaulting 13 other young girls, aged between nine and 17, over a 20-year period.

The ex-BBC football match commentator had not been due for release from that custodial sentence until September.

Hall will not now be eligible for release until December 2015 as the latest sentence will only begin after the end of his current jail term.

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Missing Yachtsmen: 'Still Hope' As Search Ends

The families of four British sailors missing in the Atlantic say they "still hold out much hope" their loved ones will be found despite the search being only hours from ending.

Relatives of Steve Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, said they have received strong support from the public and have been told "endless stories" of people surviving for months at sea.

They spoke out after the US Coast Guard said the hunt will be called off if the seamen are not found by midnight on Friday - 5am on Saturday UK time.

Captain Anthony Popiel said he had phoned the men's families to tell them the news.

Family members of the missing men outside the Foreign Office on Thursday

He added: "It is only after deepest consideration that we suspend active search efforts."

A statement issued by the Foreign Office on behalf of the families said they "still hold out much hope that their loved ones will be found soon".

It added: "They have received so much support from the public and the yachting community, hearing endless stories of people that have survived many weeks and months in different circumstances at sea and have drawn much strength from this.

Captain Popiel says he has informed the men's families

"They were obviously saddened to hear that the US Coast Guard will be suspending the search. But, they were prepared for the fact that this would have to happen."

Debris was found in the search area on Thursday, but Captain Popiel said none of the objects located so far match the missing yacht.

The four men were on board a 40ft yacht when it ran into difficulties a week ago while returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua.

An initial search for the stricken vessel was called off on Sunday amid bad weather in the Atlantic Ocean, but began again on Tuesday after pressure from the men's families.

More than 200,000 people signed a petition demanding the operation be resumed and the families of the four sailors have written to US President Barack Obama to thank him for his support.

The search, around 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, includes commercial vessels as well as aircraft from the US Coast Guard, the US Air Force, the Canadian military and the RAF.

More than 17,500 square miles of ocean have been covered since the search resumed three days ago.

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Local Elections: UKIP Makes Significant Gains

Nigel Farage has claimed his party is a "serious player" for 2015 after UKIP made significant gains in the local elections, leaving main party leaders admitting the public was voicing its discontent.

The Prime Minister conceded his party had to start delivering on immigration and welfare reform, and said the public had become "frustrated" with the status quo.

Mr Farage forecast his party would win double the 80 seats predicted leading to claims the elections had ushered in an era of four-party politics.

A ballot box is emptied at Trinity School in Croydon

UKIP took seats off both Labour and the Conservatives in their heartlands, which was particularly damaging to Ed Miliband, who has been accused by his own party of running an "unforgivably unprofessional" campaign.

David Cameron said: "People want us to deliver. The economy is growing, we are creating jobs, but we have got to work harder and we have got to really deliver on issues that are frustrating people and frustrating me, like welfare reform and immigration and making sure people really benefit from this recovery.

"We will be working flat out to demonstrate that we do have the answers to help hard working people."

Labour lost its grip in the north and, in a serious blow, the party lost control of Thurrock, a key marginal for the General Election in 2015, to no overall control, losing two seats to UKIP.

Mr Farage said UKIP would now be "serious players" in the General Election and said the party was expecting to win double the 80 seats that had been predicted.

He said: "The UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse" and added: "The idea the UKIP vote just hurts the Tories is going to be blown away by this election." 

Joey Essex may have supported Ed Miliband but Essex man voted UKIP

However, Mr Farage, who has consistently warned the local and European elections would deliver a UKIP "earthquake", admitted that the party was unlikely to be successful in London.

Ed Miliband defended the party's campaign and said people were turning to UKIP to express their discontent with the way the country is run.

He told Sky News: "I think we ran a good campaign."

He said: "I think in some parts of the country we have had discontent building up for decades about the way the country has been run and about the way our economy works and people feeling that the country just does not work for them and so what you are seeing in some parts of the country is people turning to UKIP as an expression of that discontent and that desire for change."

Mr Farage casts his vote in Cudham, Kent

Mr Miliband added that Labour would be able to provide the answer to the discontent by the 2015 vote.

UKIP made its greatest gains in Essex, where Margaret Thatcher once identified the "Essex Man", a man who moved out of London, once voted Labour but switched to the Tories.

UKIP took seats from Labour in Hartlepool, won 10 seats in Rotherham and polled more than a third of the vote in wards in big cities, such as Sunderland, Birmingham and Hull, where it previously had little or no presence.

The Camerons and the Milibands cast their votes

According to the latest Sky News projection, the results so far would give a hung parliament at the 2015 General Election.

Sky's election analyst Professor Michael Thrasher said UKIP's success suggested the party would claim at least one seat in the House of Commons next year

As predicted, the Liberal Democrats suffered significant losses, particularly in Kingston-Upon-Thames where it lost control of the council after 12 years to its coaltion partners. In Portsmouth it lost control with UKIP gaining six seats.

However, the party managed to hold on in Eastleigh, where UKIP came second last year in a by-election.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg admitted the party had had a bad night but said: "Actually I think in the areas where we have MPs where we have good organisation on the ground ... we are actually doing well."

:: Follow all the results as they come in on Twitter with @skyelections.

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RBS And NatWest Hit By Mobile Banking Glitch

Mobile banking services for RBS and NatWest have been hit by an IT glitch, along with an unconnected problem that affected some Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland online users.

In a statement given to Sky News, a spokesperson for RBS Group said: "We are aware that some customers are experiencing issues with mobile banking, we are working to get this resolved as quickly as possible.

"We apologise to customers for the inconvenience."

A spokesman for Lloyds Banking Group said there was a temporary issue on Friday morning that affected mobile and online services for a small number of customers who were trying to set up payees.

The apology seen by NatWest smartphones users

The RBS Group has been hit be a sequence of system-wide IT failures in the past, which affected RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank.

More recently, it has suffered 'pay day problems'  in the past, when workers expect to see funds enter their accounts.

Branch and cash machines are believed to be unaffected by the latest woes.

In its last annual results, the group said it was investing heavily in computer infrastructure to modernise its systems.

A number of banks were affected in February when workers expected funds to be deposited.

According to the British Bankers' Association, the use of mobile devices for banking services has doubled in the past 12 months.

RBS saw more than 17 million log ins in one week, through its mobile app, earlier this month.

In late December the group was hit by its fourth IT failure, after a cyber attack left online users unable to access accounts.

That followed an outage in early December, on one of the year's busiest shopping days.

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Missing Yachtsmen Search: Floating Debris Found

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

Debris has been found by a vessel searching for the missing yacht that is thought to have capsized with four Britons on board.

The US Coast Guard told Sky News a catamaran, Malisi, had discovered random floating objects within the search area - but could not confirm it was from the missing Cheeki Rafiki.

Steve Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, were on board the 40ft yacht when it ran into difficulties a week ago while returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua.

A statement posted on the Malisi's Facebook page said: "We spotted a wooden plank about 1-1.5m long and 20-30cm wide with what seemed like drilled holes or dark regular and symmetric dark spots along the middle (like a wall coat hanger with hooks).

Clockwise: Mr Bridge, Mr Goslin, Mr Male and Mr Warren

"The colour was medium brown with nothing growing on it (new). I can best describe it like a boat saloon table lid under which one stores bottles. Or it could be the floor board in the centre of the saloon under the table and above the keel.

"It went right between our two hulls. We had to sail downwind and west for a few minutes in order to fix the pad-eye of the dinghy where the hoisting chain was attached to as the through-bolt had just snapped."

A spokeswoman for the US Coast Guard said: "I can confirm that we have received reports (of debris) from the sailing vessel Malisi.

"They have found some debris in the search area. We can't tell at this time if they are from the Cheeki Rafiki as there were no identifying marks on them.

Relatives and family members of the four missing yachtsmen

"Obviously it is a possibility, and we are definitely treating it very seriously and incorporating that into our search, but I can't say for certain that it was from the Cheeki Rafiki."

An initial search for the stricken vessel was called off on Sunday amid bad weather in the Atlantic Ocean, but began again on Tuesday after pressure from the men's families.

More than 200,000 people also signed a petition demanding the operation be resumed.

And the families of the four sailors have written to President Barack Obama to thank him for his support.

Arriving for a meeting at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, the families confirmed they would also visit the US embassy to deliver a letter thanking the American authorities and Mr Obama for continuing with the search.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Male's father, Graham, said: "The UK government and the US Coast Guard are right behind us, which we're so grateful for.

"We know there's going to be some more resources going out there, but of course it's a large area to cover and they're going to continue their support."

Gloria Hamlet, the partner of Mr Warren, told Sky News she hoped the debris sighting would aid the search.

She said: "If it can be identified as the Cheeki Rafiki then that means we can use that position to calculate the drift patterns and things like that. We remain hopeful."

And Mr Warren's sister, Kay Coombes, told Sky News: "We're keeping our fingers crossed today for something.

"I heard the captain of the catamaran this morning saying he'd found some debris, so hopefully that can point the coastguard in the right direction now, so maybe they can refine their search a bit.

"Obviously I'm hoping they'll search for as long as they possibly can, but I'm realistic, they can't search forever, we know that.

"They're obviously putting an awful lot of resources into this now - the Canadians, the Americans and the RAF. We're ever-hopeful."

The search, around 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, now involves six ships and seven planes - including an RAF Hercules.

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Madeleine Investigation 'Enters Major Phase'

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 12:46pm UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

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Hundreds Discharged From Hospitals Every Night

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

Thousands of NHS patients are being discharged from hospitals every year in the middle of the night despite bosses ordering a crackdown on the practice, a Sky News investigation has found.

The number of patients leaving hospital in England between 11pm and 6am has actually risen in the last two years, new figures show.

In almost half of cases, the proportion of patients discharged overnight has increased.

In April 2012 NHS England medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh called on hospitals to cut down on overnight discharges following a series of cases where vulnerable patients had been left to make their own way home.

Dr Mike Smith has said the practice is driven by the need for beds

The NHS was accused of discharging patients overnight to try to free up beds.

However, figures obtained by Sky News following Freedom of Information (FOI) requests show that since Sir Bruce's intervention the practice is still widespread and in many cases rising.

According to the figures more than 300,000 patients have been discharged late at night since 2012 - an average of around 400 a night. Tens of thousands of those patients were over 75.

As only 72 of England's 160 NHS trusts were able to provide full figures for the last three years, the true number is certain to be far higher.

Dr Mike Smith, chair of the Patients Association, said: "They have got people in A&E chomping at the bit, lying in corridors, they have got to be admitted and they have no beds.

The number of patients discharged overnight increased at 41 hospital trusts

"It's for the convenience of staff and the person they are admitting but at the gross detriment to the person they are chucking out."

Experts say that patients often end up in care homes in the middle of the night.

Nadra Ahmed, chair of the National Care Association, said: "They are going back without any relevant information about how their care might have changed, what the diagnosis might have been, their paperwork is not following because people are off duty and often without the relevant medication they need for the following day or even through the night."

Patient Michael Atkinson told Sky News that in March 2013 he was discharged from the Royal Bolton Hospital A&E at 3am, despite being in a confused state.

He was found by police an hour later wandering on a cricket pitch almost a mile away.

He said: "I did not know who I was, where I was. I did not know where I was going. I was just wandering basically. I was in pain."

Michael Atkinson was found wandering after he was discharged overnight

His wife Helen said: "He could have died. He was blue with cold. Something must be done to stop this happening. You are in hospital for a reason - to be looked after."

The hospital said that Mr Atkinson had left before transport could be arranged for him but said that staff had tried to learn lessons from the incident.

Sky News asked 160 NHS trusts in England how many patients had been discharged between 11pm and 6am in the past three years.

Of those, 72 trusts provided figures for all three years. In 41 cases, the number of patients discharged overnight increased.

In 31 cases the proportion of patients discharged between 11pm and 6am increased. In three trusts it remained the same.

Of the 72 trusts that replied, 152,472 patients were discharged between 11pm and 6am in 2011/12, rising to 152,479 in 2013/14.

The figures also reveal that 20,152 were aged over 75 in 2011/12; 19,728 in 2012/13 and 18,548 in 2013/14.

The proportion of patients discharged overnight remained the same at 2.41%.

Some 25 trusts said they did not collect the data or that it would take too much time to find it and the remaining hospitals did not reply to the FOI request.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: "Discharging patients at night without appropriate support is unacceptable, particularly if a patient is vulnerable.

"Where a patient wishes to leave late at night or early in the morning, it should be accommodated only where it is safe and clinically appropriate and with the support of family, friends or carers.

"The decision to do this should always be based on what is best for the patient."

:: Have your say on Facebook or share your experiences on Twitter using the hashtag #nhsovernight

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Patients Discharged At Night: 'It's Sickening'

Hospital Discharges: Making Sense Of The Data

Updated: 12:46pm UK, Thursday 22 May 2014

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Most of us would use a commonsense definition of a "hospital discharge": you've been in a hospital bed and then you're sent home.

But hospitals count discharges in different ways.

Even though the medical director of NHS England flagged up the inconsistency as a concern two years ago, our research shows that it remains a problem.

We asked hospitals for data on their overnight patient discharges.

We got absolute numbers.

But we know that hospital admissions are rising, so it would be unfair to compare total discharges now with those two years ago.

So we asked for the proportion of discharges that were made overnight - a fairer way of tracking what is going on.

But even that can be tricky to interpret.

One hospital merrily reported that half its discharges were at night.

We queried the figures and it turned out that nurses were catching up on paperwork overnight and recording the time of day, not the time of discharge. Extraordinary.

Some hospitals say their discharge figures include patients in beds in assessment units, others strip those out.

And other hospitals say they mistakenly included newborn babies being sent home.

It begs the question: how do hospitals measure inappropriate discharges overnight if they have such muddled data?

So with such inconsistency it is impossible to make accurate head-to-head comparisons between hospitals.

But you can track individual hospitals over the years.

And our research does show that in 31 of the 72 hospitals that actually collect and supplied the data the proportion of overnight discharges is rising.

Yes, two years after NHS England ordered hospitals to stop the practice, in some it is still rising.

And judging from the phenomenal feedback we're getting, these aren't all patients who willingly discharged themselves.

The NHS has a problem, but some hospitals are in denial.

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Rolf Harris 'Assaulted Mum And Daughter'

By Alex Rossi, Southwark Crown Court

A mother and daughter have told a court they were sexual assaulted by a "touchy touchy" Rolf Harris at a hardware store in Australia in 1991.

The witnesses - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - claim the indecent assaults happened at a promotion for British paint, where Rolf Harris was appearing as a star guest.

The daughter told Southwark Crown Court he first asked her for a hug and then touched her left breast and bottom before laughing out loud.

She claimed the incident left her shocked and she later refused to draw with the celebrity.

And she said the alleged assault was: "Extremely unacceptable, by a man old enough to be my grandfather."

The court was told the witness, who was 15 or 16 at the time, was taken to the store by her mother because she was interested in art and had grown up watching Rolf Harris on television.

Her mother claimed Harris also assaulted her by rubbing himself up against her buttocks as photos were taken.

She told the court she looked him in the eye and called him a "disgusting creature" before deliberately standing on his foot to make him stop.

The pair both appeared by video link from Australia. They were called as character witnesses for the prosecution.

Rolf Harris denies 12 counts of indecent assault. The trial continues.

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Missing Yachtsmen: Coastguard Steps Up Search

The sister of one of the four sailors missing after their yacht capsized in the Atlantic Ocean believes there is every chance he will be found alive.

Kay Coombes, the sister of Steve Warren, also spoke of her relief that the search for the crew of the Cheeki Rafiki, which was returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua, had resumed after a public campaign.

The US Coast Guard in Boston is coordinating the hunt. Pic: US Coast Guard

She was speaking as the US Coast Guard stepped up the hunt, which now involves four ships and three planes.

A further three vessels and an aircraft are en route to the search area, about 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

An RAF Hercules is also on its way to join the hunt.

Air crews on the scene have scoured a total of 2,878 square miles since the search resumed.

The overturned hull of a yacht spotted by a cargo ship

Speaking from Somerset, Ms Coombes told Sky News: "We are all sticking together at this point. We are amazed by the public support we have had.

"We are very thankful to the US Coast Guard that they have started searching again.

"We are being realistic about what's happening but we are still hopeful at this point.

"Knowing my brother like I do - he's very very strong, physically strong, mentally strong - there's every chance he's still alive.

"We also are realistic. All we can do is hope and pray, and keep everything crossed that we can that we have a positive outcome.

Rear Admiral Dan Abel discusses the search operation. Pic: US Coast Guard

"People are out there now looking for them, so if they are out there there's a good chance they are going to be found now."

Mr Warren's daughter Laura Carpenter said: "Obviously we are so pleased the search is back on again now."

The RAF Hercules plane will begin combing the ocean on Thursday and will be able to search for up to four hours at a time.

Mr Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, were on board the 40ft yacht when it ran into difficulties.

The US Coast Guard called off the search for them last weekend after two days, but the decision was reversed after more than 150,000 people signed an online petition.

A sailor who survived for five days after being shipwrecked in the mid-Atlantic told Sky News he believes the crew are still alive.

Rory Nugent told US Correspondent Amanda Walker: "I was declared dead twice by the US Coast Guard and the US Navy and eventually got apology letters from both.

"I think human nature and these guys' desire to live will keep them alive and keep them going."

Rory Nugent was declared dead twice

The Cheeki Rafiki's crew had sent out locator beacons 1,000 miles east of Massachusetts and the Coast Guard estimated the survival time for the Britons was 20 hours after "the time of distress".

The capsized hull of a yacht was spotted by the crew of cargo ship Maersk Kure, which was assisting in the search.

But they did not attempt to climb down to the stricken vessel and insisted there were no signs of life on board and no life raft.

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Prince Charles 'Compares Putin To Hitler'

Prince Charles has reportedly compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler over his actions in Ukraine.

The Prince of Wales' alleged remark about Mr Putin came during a four-day tour of Canada when he spoke to a woman who fled the Nazis and lost family members in the Holocaust.

A spokesman for Clarence House said: "We do not comment on private conversations.

"But we would like to stress that the Prince of Wales would not seek to make a public political statement during a private conversation."

Charles was being shown around the Museum of Immigration in Halifax, Nova Scotia, along with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The royal couple paid tribute to World War Two veterans and their families, and during the course of the visit they spoke to museum volunteer Marianne Ferguson.

Ms Ferguson told the Prince she fled to Canada with her family in 1939, not long before Hitler annexed the Baltic coastal Free City of Gdansk.

Prince Charles and Camilla in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island

After meeting Charles, the 78-year-old told the Daily Mail: "The Prince said 'And now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler'.

"I must say that I agree with him and am sure a lot of people do.

"But I was very surprised that he made the comment as I know they [members of the Royal Family] aren't meant to say these things.

"I told the Prince that while my family and I were lucky to get a permit to travel, many members of my relatives had permits but were unable to get out before the war broke out on September 1.

"They were sent to the concentration camps and died."

The Mail reported that the Prince made his comments while surrounded by media and they were heard by several witnesses.

Mr Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Sky News: "I don't know anything about it. I can't really trust the Daily Mail as a source."

Protesters in Kiev have also compared Putin to Hitler

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg backed Prince Charles on his LBC Radio phone-in, saying: "Prince Charles should be perfectly entitled to express views in the confidence that he's expressing them privately."

But Labour (Co-op) MP Mike Gapes, who represents Ilford South, said the Prince "should abdicate" if he wants to make controversial statements.

He said on Twitter: "If Prince Charles wants to make controversial statements on national or international issues he should abdicate and stand for election.

"In constitutional monarchy, policy and diplomacy should be conducted by parliament and government. Monarchy should be seen and not heard."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has backed Mr Putin's anti-EU stance in the past, said: "Prince Charles has made those comments - I know some people feel that way about Putin.

"I think there's a difference. The difference is right from the very start Hitler was expansionist, and we haven't see very much evidence of that until now from Putin and arguably, what's happened in the Ukraine is because he's been poked with a stick by the rest of the world."

Mr Putin is in Shanghai meeting with Xi Jinping and other world leaders

Charles and the Russian leader are due to meet next month when they attend the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6.

Mr Putin has faced international anger over Russia's actions in neighbouring Ukraine, including the controversial annexation of Crimea.

In March, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly said Mr Putin's claim to be be defending ethnic Russians in Crimea was "what Hitler did back in the '30s".

She later backtracked, claiming she was not making a direct comparison but that Russia's behaviour was "reminiscent" of Germany in the build-up to the Second World War.

Prince Charles has been known for speaking his mind on issues such as architecture and the environment, but he rarely makes his feelings known on diplomatic matters.

There is an ongoing legal battle over the publication of letters he has sent to politicians, with the attorney general concerned their release could compromise the Prince's neutrality and create constitutional problems.

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Rolf Harris 'Victim' Gets Timeline Wrong

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

A woman who claims she was indecently assaulted by entertainer Rolf Harris in a pub has told a court she got her "timeline wrong".

Tonya Lee, 43, had said the veteran entertainer molested her twice just hours after she arrived in Britain on a youth theatre tour from Australia.

She claimed the incident happened in a London pub in 1986 on her first day in the country when she was 15, but defence barrister Sonia Woodley QC produced an itinerary that suggested she was wrong.

Ms Woodley read out to Southwark Crown Court details of the tour which started in London and went on to Birmingham, Liverpool and Scotland.

She added that at the end of the tour there was a "celebration" dinner with Harris in a Greenwich pub just before the party returned to Australia.

Ms Woodley said the itinerary proved Ms Lee was wrong in saying she had been assaulted by him in the pub at the start of her six-week visit.

The alleged victim, a mother of three, responded: "I know the incident happened. This happened almost 28 years ago. There is fault about my timeline but what happened, happened.

"My dates are wrong but I know what happened."

She added the incidents remained "clear" in her mind.

A photo of Tonya Lee released by the Metropolitan Police

Ms Woodley asked her how she could have said in her evidence the tour was "tainted" by what she claimed took place and that she "threw up for the rest of the trip".

After a long pause Ms Lee, 43, said: "I don't know, maybe I was nervous about being away from home."

Ms Woodley suggested that she was ill and lost weight because she "didn't like English food".

The witness also admitted that at the time she sold her story to the Australian media for $60,000 (£33,000), she owed $10,000 (£5,500) to the tax authorities.

But she insisted "money was not the motivating factor", adding she just wanted to tell police what she claimed happened to her with Harris.

She denied prosecution suggestions that she "spiced up" her story in order to secure a more lucrative deal with Australian media.

Finally, Ms Lee was asked why she had given evidence and said she was "forever grateful for the opportunity" to speak.

In tears, she added: "It takes people like myself to speak out, to help others that have suffered, to give strength to others.

"What I do know is that nobody has a right, no matter who they are, to subject something to somebody that is unlawful, wrong. There is an age of consent for a reason."

Harris, 84, is accused of three indecent assault charges against Ms Lee and nine other allegations, all of which he denies.

As she gave evidence Harris, who lives in Bray, Berkshire, listened and occasionally passed notes to his defence team.

Harris has had a 50-year career in entertainment and was again supported in the public gallery by his wife Alwen and other family and friends.

The trial continues.

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Home Secretary Cuts Police Federation Funding

The Home Secretary has said the public can no longer continue to fund the Police Federation when it has vast reserves of its own.

Theresa May told the Police Federation annual conference that funding would be cut from August because it was "not acceptable" for it to continue when the organisation had tens of millions of pounds in its reserves.

Mrs May had already said spending would be reduced from £320,000 to £190,000 each year but now has said it will be cut completely.

In a bruising speech, Mrs May listed a string of controversies faced by the police, including the Plebgate row, involving misconduct over the investigation into the Downing Street incident involving the former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell, and the Hillsborough report.

She said: "If there's anybody in this hall who doubts that our model of policing is at risk, if there is anybody who underestimates the damage recent events and revelations have done to the relationship between the public and the police, if anybody here questions the need for the police to change, I am here to tell you that it's time to face up to reality."

Mrs May said that if the Police Federation did not accept reforms recommended by Sir David Normington then "we will impose change on you."

Her speech was greeted by silence from officers.

During a question and answer session that followed one officer, who had served for 21 years, told the Home Secretary: "I've never had such an attack and a personal kicking from what you said there."

He added: "You're threatening to bully us."

Mrs May told the Federation a third of the public no longer trusted officers to tell the truth as a result of a number of high profile scandals.

She added that it was "not enough to mouth platitudes about a few bad apples".

In January a report commissioned by the former chief civil servant at the Home Office, Sir David Normington, found the organisation was riven by deep divisions between leaders.

It also found there was"a culture of secrecy" over finances with £64.5m held in reserves with a number of local branches refusing to give details of accounts where funds were held.

The report warned that the organisation,which represents 124,000 rank and file officers, must reform.

As well as cutting funding, Mrs May said officers would no longer automatically become members of the Police Federation but would now have to opt to belong.

Outgoing chairman of the Police Federation Steve Williams blamed the media for the increasing hostility to the Police Federation saying there had been "negative story after negative story".

He told officers: "And while the good deeds of our members are occasionally rightly reflected in the local media, a focus on your efforts and the efforts of Fed reps across the country has become difficult in the haze of negativity and media furore."

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Met Police Officer Sacked Over Plebgate Affair

Police officer Susan Johnson has been sacked from the Met Police for gross misconduct because of her role in the Plebgate affair.

The officer, who serves on the diplomatic protection squad, was dismissed following a misconduct hearing which found her behaviour had "breached standards of professional behaviour".

The investigation into the altercation between the former Conservative Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell and a police officer at the gates of Downing Street found Pc Johnson had been involved in the leaking of information about the incident to The Sun newspaper.

Pc Johnson, who was not on duty at the time of the argument over cycling along Downing Street , was found to have been exchanging text messages and a phone call with someone who had then contacted the newspaper.

Andrew Mitchell at the gates of Downing Street

Mr Mitchell resigned after details of his altercation with Pc Toby Rowland on September 19, 2012 emerged in which he was accused of using the phrase "f***ing pleb", a claim he has always denied.

The Conservative MP has always claimed the Police Federation used the incident to take revenge for police cuts and had orchestrated a "stitch-up".

Deborah Glass, of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, said earlier this year: "The patchwork of evidence from emails, text messages and telephone calls does not suggest an organised conspiracy to bring down a cabinet minister.

"But there was clearly collusion between certain officers to, as they saw it, blow the whistle on bad behaviour toward one of their own, which ultimately had the same effect."

Pc Keith Wallis was jailed for lying about the Plebgate affair

Pc Keith Wallis, another diplomatic protection officer, was jailed in February for lying about witnessing the heated exchange.

Pc Gillian Weatherley, who was on duty on the day of the incident, was sacked last month for leaking information to the press. She sent a picture of an email sent by Pc Rowland to his bosses to The Sun.

Following the jailing of Pc Wallis, Met Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe apologised to Mr Mitchell and to the public for the officer's behaviour.

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UK's Private Concerns About Chinese Cyber Spies

US And China Spy Row: Diplomatic Fallout 'Huge'

Updated: 7:32pm UK, Monday 19 May 2014

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

America's decision to file charges against five Chinese individuals and to publish 'wanted' posters for them is as serious as it is unprecedented.

These are allegations levelled not just against China but against the Chinese State.

The United States government is, for the first time ever, accusing another nation of state-sponsored economic espionage or as they called it "21st century burglary".

The diplomatic fallout will be huge.

The officials from the Department of Justice not only singled out individuals from Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), but they named the unit within the PLA which they say has been doing the hacking: Unit 61398.

It is not the first time the unit 61398 has been in the frame.

Last February, an American internet security firm called Mandiant published the results of several years research and intelligence analysis.

Working on behalf of their clients - multinational companies in both the US and in the UK - they analysed instances of hacking and commercial espionage.

Using sophisticated technology and cyber forensics, Mandiant collated evidence and 'digital crumbs' from hundreds of investigations.

They mapped the IP addresses from many different cyber attacks. Remarkably, they all popped up in one small neighbourhood in the Chinese city of Shanghai, and the location of the headquarters of Unit 61398.

Mandiant was not able physically to prove that the hackers were inside the building but analysts were convinced that they could not be anywhere else.

"Either they are coming from inside Unit 61398 or the people who run the most-controlled, most-monitored internet networks in the world are clueless about thousands of people generating attacks from this one neighbourhood," the Mandiant's founder Kevin Mandia said at the time the report was released.

At the time, the US government said that it was aware of Mandiant's report.

They said they were talking to the Chinese at the highest level about their concerns over cyber espionage of intellectual property. But it was also made clear that the diplomatic sensitivities were huge.

The Chinese have been unusually swift with their angry response to the American move.

A Foreign Ministry statement, published at nearly midnight in Beijing, said the allegations were "made up".

The Chinese cries of 'hypocrisy' will be deafening. After all, as Edward Snowden revealed, America has hacked China - the NSA allegedly hacked into the HQ of Huawei, the Chinese tech giant.

But the US says its agencies only 'cyber spy' when it concerns national security - and they say Huawei is a national security concern.

America insists it doesn't steal intellectual property for commercial gain. In China, the distinction is a little more blurred.  

America's allegations are bound to be of concern to companies, big and small, who do business in China and those wanting to break into China.

It's the world's second largest economy and a market to win. But it's hard to trust who you're working with in China.

Hugo Swire, a British Foreign Office minister, is on a trade trip to China this week trying to help UK companies break into the country.

But he and his staff leave their smartphones at home - UK government advice states that the chances they may get hacked into are too high to risk taking them.

Some of the companies who the Americans say had intellectual property stolen are in the business of nuclear power and solar panels.

It just happens that China's nuclear power and solar panel industries are becoming increasingly successful. Is that through their own innovation or is it "21st century burglary"?

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SAS Sniper Nightingale Loses Gun Case Appeal

A former SAS sniper has lost his latest battle against his conviction for illegally keeping a gun and ammunition.

Sergeant Danny Nightingale's application to appeal was turned down by three judges at the Court Martial Appeal Court in London.

The 39-year-old was sentenced last July to two years' military detention, suspended for 12 months, by a military court in Bulford, Wiltshire, after being convicted for the second time.

The special forces soldier was found guilty of having a 9mm Glock pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition in the bedroom of his shared Army house.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas dismissed his application for permission to appeal, ruling that there was nothing in the grounds he wished to argue which affected the safety of his conviction.

Sitting with Mr Justice Hickinbottom and Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, Lord Thomas said there was a "considerable amount" of evidence before the court martial which "supported" the conviction.

Guns and ammunition found at Nightingale's house

He said the appeal court could not see "in any way" how his proposed grounds of appeal - the main one relating to expert evidence - would "affect the conviction".

The pistol was found in Nightingale's wardrobe and ammunition was under his bed in a plastic box. He claimed he had no knowledge of them being in his bedroom.

Nightingale, from Crewe, had pleaded not guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm and also denied possession of the ammunition.

He was originally jailed for 18 months in November 2012 for the offences, but had his sentence cut after appeal judges concluded it was too harsh.

It was reduced to 12 months suspended, resulting in his release. His conviction was then quashed in March 2013 by appeal judges and a fresh trial was ordered.

During a military career starting in 1995 he served in the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. He received a medical discharge, remaining in the Army until it commenced in February.

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Joss Stone Murder Plot Pair Have Sentences Cut

Two men who were convicted of plotting to rob and kill the singer Joss Stone have won appeals against the length of their prison sentences.

Junior Bradshaw, 33, had his 18-year sentence cut to 10 years by three Court of Appeal judges in London. 

Kevin Liverpool, 36, who was originally given a life sentence with a minimum term of 10 years and eight months, had his minimum reduced to six-and-a-half years.

The pair, of St Stephen's Close, Longsight, Manchester, were found guilty of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to rob following a trial at Exeter Crown Court last year.

They drove from Manchester to Miss Stone's home in mid-Devon with an arsenal of weapons, including a samurai sword, to rob and kill her.

When the pair were sentenced, Judge Francis Gilbert, the Recorder of Exeter, branded Liverpool a danger to the public and said he targeted Miss Stone to get more than £1m from her.

The car the men used to drive to Devon

He told him: "You intended to rob her and kill her and dump her body in the river, according to your words, and then leave the country with your accomplice, Junior Bradshaw. You had no reason to target her except that she was a wealthy young woman as she was a successful singer."

Liverpool and Bradshaw had scouted Miss Stone's home and were on their way to attack her armed with a sword, three knives, two hammers, masks, gloves and a hosepipe when they were arrested in Cullompton in June 2011.

Giving the ruling of the court, Mr Justice Bean said it had dismissed Liverpool's appeal "insofar as it challenges the imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment".

One of the weapons found in the car

It had been argued on his behalf that the "clumsy and badly-planned" conspiracy was not so serious as to qualify Liverpool for a life sentence.

The judge said the court "cannot accept this submission". It was a conspiracy to murder using an "array of weapons", and was persisted in even after the setback of damage to their car.

He added: "When coupled with the finding that the appellant (Liverpool) poses a high risk of serious harm to the public, it leads to the clear conclusion that a life sentence was justified."

Taking into account the 22 months spent in custody before sentencing, Liverpool becomes eligible to apply for parole in December 2017.

But the judges stressed that "we are not ordering that the appellant be released in December 2017".

Turning to Bradshaw's appeal the judge said he was "of exceptionally low intellectual capacity".

As the trial judge had noted, Liverpool was the instigator and Bradshaw was the foot soldier.

Mr Justice Bean said that had he been more intelligent "he would have realised that the chances of a successful and profitable robbery were so remote as not to be worth attempting".

In light of the reduction made in Liverpool's minimum term, and the trial judge's finding "which was clearly correct", that Bradshaw was to be treated as a foot soldier, "a reduction in his sentences should likewise be made".

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Missing Yachtsmen: 150,000 Call For New Search

More than 150,000 people have signed an online petition, demanding the US Coastguard resume its search for a yacht which is thought to have capsized with four Britons on board.

An air and search for the missing Cheeki Rafiki, which ran into difficulties in the Atlantic Ocean, around 620 miles (1,000km) east of Cape Cod, was called off after 53 hours.

An overturned hull of a yacht matching the description of the vessel was spotted and photographed by a cargo ship assisting the search.

The families of the four yachtsman - Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male and Paul Goslin - are adamant they would have had time to escape onto a life raft.

If 150,000 sign up to an e-petition it will be sent to the US Coastguard

That is a view shared by Nicola Evans, a friend of Mr Bridge who sailed with him last year, whose e-petition has now been signed more than 154,000 times.

Now it has passed the 150,000 mark, the petition will be sent to both the US Coastguard and the Foreign Secretary William Hague.

"The US Coastguard has done a fantastic job searching for the crew, but we're asking they just give them a bit more time," Ms Evans said.

"Andy is an amazing guy and showed such genuine care for me and all his crew mates. We all consider him a close friend and desperately want him to be found."

The overturned hull thought to be the Cheeki Rafiki. Pic: Maersk Kure

The coastguard called of the hunt - which also involved Canadian aircraft and three merchant vessels - after searching about 4,000 square miles throughout Friday and Saturday.

A spokesman said the search was halted, amid treacherous weather conditions, after no more transmissions were received from the vessel's personal location GPS beacons.

Mr Bridge's father David told Sky News rescue teams "should give them another chance", while Mr Male's dad Graham added: "They were calm, there was no panic, they knew exactly what they were doing.

"We know from the evidence that has been given to us and from what experienced sailors have been saying ... there's a very good chance they're in the life raft."

L-R: Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male, Paul Goslin

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the MP for South West Surrey where Mr Bridge lives, also backed calls for the US Coastguard not to give up.

He tweeted: "Desperate 4 families of missing yachtsman, one from Farnham. I know US Coastguard has done masses but pls don't stop looking. 2 soon 2 give up."

Contact with the Cheeki Rafiki was lost on Friday morning while the yacht was diverting to the Azores.

The capsized hull was spotted by the crew of the Maersk Kure, who did not attempt to climb down to the stricken vessel but insisted there were no signs of life on board and no life raft.

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Rolf Harris 'Groped Girl As She Sat On His Lap'

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1:54pm UK, Tuesday 20 May 2014

The witness said Harris met her theatre tour at the airport from Australia

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