Asda Parking Row: Man Killed Over Disabled Space

A man has been killed in a row over a disabled parking space in a supermarket car park, police have said.

A 65-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the fracas at Asda in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.

He was released on police bail on Sunday night pending further enquiries until August 19, a police spokesman said.

The victim, from Sandy, was taken to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge where he died on Sunday afternoon, Bedfordshire Police said.

Relatives of the victim, who was aged 64, were at his bedside when he died.

Witnesses are urged to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Redfearn, who is leading the investigation, said: "The men were waiting in the disabled parking area at the time and got into a disagreement about parking.

"We know they became involved in a disagreement which resulted in one man punching the other, knocking him to the ground.

"It would seem an argument over nothing has led to tragic and devastating consequences for both men and their families.

"I know the supermarket car park would have been very busy on a Saturday afternoon so if you were there at the relevant time please contact the police in confidence."

The suspect left the supermarket following the incident at around 3pm, but was arrested at his home address nearby a short time later.

Asda said one of its managers, a first aider, was first on the scene and helped the injured man until paramedics arrived.

A spokesman said: "We're helping the police get to the bottom of what happened. Our thoughts are with the gentleman's family during this difficult time."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Bedfordshire Police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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Fracking: 'Fear Of Unknown' In Countryside

Fracking is causing a "fear of the unknown" in the British countryside and people need more information, a Conservative former minister has warned.

Nick Herbert, an ex-justice minister, claimed the controversial technique was considered the next biggest threat after unwanted housing developments.

Mr Herbert did not condemn fracking but made clear his constituents in the West Sussex seat of Arundel and South Downs have deep concerns about it.

The practice involves fracturing rock deposits deep below the ground with high-pressure blasts of water and chemicals.

Ministers believe it could lead to major cuts in energy bills by reducing the UK's reliance on other sources but campaigners are fighting drilling.

Former minister Nick Herbert

Protests were held at a site in Balcombe, West Sussex, last week as test drilling began despite energy company Cuadrilla insisting its current operations will not involve fracking there.

Mr Herbert told the Telegraph: "There is a lot of concern about the impact of new housing in West Sussex. This (fracking) is seen as a second threat to the countryside.

"People are worried about the implications and they don't have enough information to know how damaging it will be. It is the fear of the unknown that is exacerbating local concerns.

"People understand the national arguments about the need for secure and cheap energy, but they don't know how much this is going to damage the local environment.

"What you are talking about here is very beautiful and tranquil countryside that people are keen to preserve. At the moment it is unknown - we just don't know what the potential impact and scale of this is. There does need to be more information."

His comments come amid increasing signs of unease among MPs about the innovative method of extracting gas from shale deposits deep under the ground.

Another Tory MP, Eric Ollerenshaw, has suggested the development of shale gas facilities could create a new "North-South divide".

The Lancaster and Fleetwood MP warned that the North of England would not be prepared to absorb the potential environmental damage while the South reaped the financial rewards.

A young anti-fracking protester in Balcombe last week

He spoke out after Tory peer Lord Howell of Guildford sparked outrage by suggesting fracking should be confined to "desolate" parts of the North.

Lancashire has been identified as one of the areas with the most potential for hydraulic fracking, with a recent report suggesting there could be 1,300 trillion cubit feet of shale gas present.

Mr Ollerenshaw said: "We want [a] level playing field across the country. We do not want ... that the North gets the dirty end and the South sucks up all the energy."

Liberal Democrat party president, Tim Farron, has also said that a "short-sighted" rush to exploit deposits could cause long-lasting damage to the countryside.

"I am afraid the Government has seen flashing pound signs and has not considered the long-term threats fracking poses to the countryside," he said.

"I think this is a very short-sighted policy and we will all be left to live with the consequences."

Energy minister Michael Fallon was this weekend reported to have relished the prospect of fracking under the "chattering class" commentators in The Weald in the affluent South East.

The Mail on Sunday reported he told a private meeting that "the beauty" of drilling in Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey was that "of course it's underneath the commentariat - all these people writing leaders saying 'Why don't they  get on with shale?' We are going to see how thick their rectory walls are, whether they like the flaring at the end of the drive!"

A spokesman for the energy department did not dispute the paper's account of the comments, but said: "Fracking will only be allowed in the Weald if it is safe and poses no risk to the environment."

Friends of the Earth's policy and campaigns director Craig Bennett said: "Michael Fallon's unguarded comments will resonate across the UK and fuel more opposition to the Government's disastrous support for fracking.

"Ministers must pull the plug on shale gas and oil extraction, especially as there's plenty of evidence they won't lead to cheaper fuel bills.

"We need an energy policy based on cutting waste and developing the nation's huge renewable power potential - not one that wrecks our clean and pleasant land and pumps more pollution into our atmosphere."

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Flood Warning As Heavy Rain Sweeps Across UK

A huge rain band spreading from southwest England to southern Scotland has brought a warning of possible flooding from the Met Office.

A "be aware" alert has been issued for the western half of England, Wales and the Borders, with up to 2.3ins (60mm) of rain possible in parts of the South West.

The warning also covers Todmorden in West Yorkshire, which was hit by up to 18in (46cm) of water a week ago after a cloudburst and torrential rain.

While the heavy rain is bad news for most it could help England's campaign to retain the Ashes, forcing a draw in the third Test.

Rain threatens to settle the outcome of the third Ashes Test

Old Trafford woke to persistent rain which will linger throughout the afternoon, only clearing by early evening, says Sky News weather presenter Sarah Pennock.

For other areas, she said: "A band of slow-moving rain will extend from southwest England to southeast Scotland today, bringing tricky driving conditions and localised flooding.

"The heaviest rain will affect northern and western parts of England and Wales - here we could see up to two inches of rain in places."

Pennock added: "It's a very different story for Ireland and much of Scotland - there it will be drier and brighter with sunny spells.

Walden, near Todmorden, suffered severe flooding. Pic: Twitter/@jams1999

"Tuesday and Wednesday will be an improving story for most with drier conditions, some sunshine and temperatures peaking around 24C in the South East."

The rain and cooler temperatures follow weeks of hot weather which saw Thursday, August 1, become the hottest day of the year so far in the UK, when 34.1C was recorded at Heathrow.

The previous highest temperature was 33.5C which was recorded at both Northolt and Heathrow on July 22. 

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Ian Tomlinson's Family Welcome Police Apology

Ian Tomlinson's family have said Scotland's Yard public apology for his death is "as close as we are going to get to justice".

Police apologised for the death at the G20 protests in 2009 as they confirmed an out-of-court settlement has been reached with Mr Tomlinson's relatives.

The 47-year-old was hit with a baton and shoved by Pc Simon Harwood during the demonstrations in the City of London and later collapsed and died.

Mr Harwood was found not guilty of manslaughter last year but was later thrown out of the police for gross misconduct after disciplinary proceedings.

In its statement, Scotland Yard paid tribute to Mr Tomlinson's widow Julia and family for enduring the pain of his death "with dignity".

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Maxine de Brunner said: "I take full responsibility for the actions of Simon Harwood on 1 April 2009.

Pc Simon Harwood

"His actions fell far below the standard we expect from our officers. I accept the finding of the inquest that Mr Tomlinson was unlawfully killed.

"As the jury found, 'at the time of the strike and push, Mr Tomlinson was walking away from the police line. He was complying with police instructions to leave Royal Exchange Buildings. He posed no threat'.

"Today, I apologise unreservedly for Simon Harwood's use of excessive and unlawful force, which caused Mr Tomlinson's death, and for the suffering and distress caused to his family as a result."

Mrs Tomlinson described the last four years as "a really hard uphill battle" and said the family would never understand the trial verdict.

But welcoming the apology, she said: "It will always be painful for us that Ian died so violently, but at least he is at rest now, and the force has publicly acknowledged the truth.

"We hope that lessons have been learned and that other families will be spared the tragedy and ordeal that we have had to face.

"We loved Ian and will always keep his memory alive by talking about him and sharing our memories with each other as we finally start looking to the future again."

Immediately after Mr Tomlinson's death, officers claimed they had come under a hail of bottles as they tried to help him.

A detective inspector also incorrectly briefed a pathologist that he had fallen in front of a police van.

But the fatal encounter was caught on film by a New York hedge fund manager, who passed the footage to the Guardian newspaper.

It showed the newspaper seller walking away from a group of police officers and falling to the ground after he was hit and shoved by Mr Harwood.

The first post-mortem found he had died from a heart attack but later it was determined he had suffered internal injuries.

His widow described the video as "shocking" and said the family should never have had to go to court to establish that he was unlawfully killed.

Ms De Brunner apologised for the police's "ill-considered comments" immediately after Mr Tomlinson died and for how the family found out the truth through the press.

She also conceded mistakes were made in allowing Mr Harwood to move between the Met and Surrey Police despite a controversial disciplinary record.

The officer was due to face internal disciplinary proceedings in 2001 while working for Scotland Yard after he was accused of unlawful arrest, abuse of authority and discreditable conduct.

They were discontinued when he retired on medical grounds but he rejoined the force as a civilian worker and then became a police officer for Surrey.

He was later allowed to rejoin the Met in 2004 as part of its Territorial Support Group, specialising in public order.

"It is clear that insufficient recording and checks meant that detailed information regarding the officer's misconduct history was not shared at key points. We got it wrong," Ms De Brunner said.

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Test Tube Burger Served Up For First Time

By Alex Watts, Sky News Online

The world's first test tube burger, costing a whopping £250,000, has been unveiled in London.

The 5oz patty - made from lab-grown "cultured beef" - was dished up by its creator, Professor Mark Post, before journalists in Hammersmith, in the west of the capital.

The scientist-turned-chef made the most expensive beefburger in history from 20,000 tiny strips of meat grown from cow stem cells over a three-month period.

The billionaire co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin, bankrolled the research, saying he was doing it for "animal welfare reasons".

The burger was cooked with oil and butter

Before Mr Brin was unveiled as the mysterious benefactor on Monday, he was described by Professor Post as a household name with a track record of "turning everything into gold".

Few details of today's slice of culinary and scientific history were released ahead of the tasting.

The burger was fried in a pan with sunflower oil and a knob of butter before it was sampled by Josh Schonwald, author of The Taste of Tomorrow and food scientist Hanni Rutzler.

Ms Rutzler said it was "close to meat" but she was expecting the texture to be softer and it wasn't very juicy.

Mr Schonwald said the "absence is the fat ... it's a leanness to it but the bite feels like a conventional hamburger".

Professor Post reckons commercial production could begin within 20 years

He said the biggest different was the lack of flavour, such as spice or fat.

Professor Post believes his artificial meat - known by the rather unappetising title "in-vitro meat" - could herald a food revolution and appear in supermarkets within the next 10 to 20 years.

He said he was happy with the comments and had not been that worried about the verdict on the taste. He added in a couple of months they should be able to add fat into the product.

The burger could help save the planet by cutting the billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases currently released by livestock, and may also be deemed ethically acceptable by vegetarians because it would dramatically reduce the need to slaughter animals.

Synthetic beef (centre) with hamburger meat (left) and minced beef (right)

But its success or failure will ultimately depend on how much it resembles the taste, texture and price of real meat.

Up until now, the only outsider known to have eaten the synthetic meat was a Russian reporter who snatched a piece of cultured pork and stuffed it in his mouth during a visit to Professor Post's lab - before it had been passed as safe to eat.

He was reportedly unimpressed by the pork, describing it as "chewy and tasteless".

Professor Post's team at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands conducted experiments which progressed from mouse meat to pork and finally beef - the most environmentally destructive meat.

"What we are going to attempt is important because I hope it will show cultured beef has the answers to major problems that the world faces," he said.

"Our burger is made from muscle cells taken from a cow. We haven't altered them in any way. For it to succeed it has to look, feel and hopefully taste like the real thing."

The in-vitro burger is cultured from cattle stem cells

The ingredients don't sound like something a chef would boast about on a menu - half-millimetre thick strips of pinkish yellow lab-grown tissue, each the size of a rice grain.

But Professor Post is confident he can produce a burger that is almost indistinguishable from one made from prime beef.

He points out that livestock farming is becoming unsustainable, with demand for meat rocketing around the world.

The industry accounts for nearly 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions - even greater than transport - with 228 million tonnes of meat produced each year.

And the environmental problems are only likely to get worse, with the UN forecasting that world demand for meat will double by 2050, largely driven by an increased demand from a growing middle class in China and other developing nations.

Added to this, around 70% of all farmland is devoted to meat production, and cattle consume around 10% of the world's freshwater supplies, making meat farming a very costly, planet-damaging business.

Experts say 1kg of meat requires up to 10kg of crops to produce, making it a highly inefficient method of turning plants into human food, whereas synthetic meat uses about 2kg of feed.

Research by Oxford University scientists in 2011 estimated that cultured meat needs 99% less land than livestock, between 82% and 96% less water, and produces between 78% and 95% less greenhouse gas.

The burger launched today has cost  £250,000 to produce, but the Dutch team are hoping to dramatically slash the cost by industrialising the laborious process.

The Food Standards Agency said that before going on sale, synthetic meat would need regulatory approval, with manufacturers needing to prove that all necessary safety tests had been carried out.

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Childcare Scheme To Help Working Parents

Families where both parents are in work could soon be offered taxpayer-funded help with childcare.

The Government is to announce a formal consultation on the introduction of a £1bn scheme, set to be introduced in 2015.

It is proposed that the online vouchers will be worth up to £1,200 per child, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

For every 80p families pay in, the Government will put in 20p up to an annual limit for each child of £1,200.

The support will benefit around 2.5 million households.

And even families with a combined income of up to £300,000 will be able to get the payments.

The issue of childcare has proven tricky for the coalition

However, about 1.2 million households where one parent - mostly mothers - stays at home will not be eligible for the help.

The scheme will be introduced for children under five by 2015 and extended to cover all those under 12 by 2020, under current plans.

Lower-income families where both parents work will get extra payments that will cover up to 85% of their childcare costs, compared with the current 70%.

The Treasury will invite comments on the plans on Monday.

Sharon Hodgson MP, Labour's shadow minister for children and families said: "Only David Cameron's Government could be so out of touch that they expect families to be grateful for help with childcare in 2015 when they've already seen costs spiralling and support taken away.

"This Government has hit hardworking parents. Families with two children have already lost up to £1,500 in childcare tax credit.

"This Government promised to be the most family friendly ever but hardworking parents have lost out while millionaires get a tax cut."

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Homeless: More Young People Sleeping Rough

As statistics show more young people are becoming homeless in the UK, a new play questions why more is not being done to help those forced onto the streets.

Government figures show the number of people sleeping rough in England has increased by a third since 2010.

In London alone, 6,437 people slept rough during 2012-13, a 62% rise in two years.

Campaigners say there is a risk this trend could continue, given youth unemployment, the economic downturn and the pressures on low income families, combined with changes within welfare reform, reduction of public services and the general squeezing of housing supply and affordability of accommodation.

The official figures do not account for the hidden homeless.

Three months after his 18th birthday, Leo was forced to sofa surf for nine months until he received help from Centre Point.

He told Sky News: "I feel lonely and like I don't really have a voice. I'm not really accountable for anything despite going to college. I don't feel like a real person."

Director Nadia Fall's new play opens at the National Theatre in London

Ministers insist they are taking homelessness seriously and have pledged £400m to councils to tackle the issue.

Communities Minister Don Foster said: "We have one of the strongest safety nets across the world. If you look, for example, at rough sleeping in London, out of the 6,000 people in the last 12 months only 14 of those were under 18."

After spending 18 months speaking to young people at an east London hostel, director Nadia Fall has used their words for the basis of a new play called Home, which opens at the National Theatre this week.

"There is seriously a whole generation that will not understand what it means to call your home in the way that we do -  somewhere of your own, either to have, own or to even to rent," she said.

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Walthamstow Rape: Third Teenager Arrested

Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy over the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Walthamstow, northeast London.

The boy was held after attending an east London police station and remained in custody on Sunday.

Two other teenagers have been charged with rape.

The 17-year-old suspects, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court in Bow, east London, on Saturday.

One youth, known as teenager A, was remanded in custody and is due to reappear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on August 21.

The other boy, described as teenager B, was released on conditional bail.

Police said the victim was approached by three men and dragged to a secluded garage area at the end of Hibbert Road at around 12.15am on July 27.

They said she was "pinned down" and "brutally" attacked by two people before managing to raise the alarm by calling a friend from her mobile phone.

:: Anyone with information is asked to call the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command on 020 8217 7408 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Twitter Bomb Threat Sent To Prof Mary Beard

Classics expert Mary Beard has revealed she was sent a bomb threat on Twitter hours after a personal apology from the site's UK boss over attacks on women by "trolls".

Ms Beard, a professor of classics at the University of Cambridge, said she had contacted police after a message on Saturday night claiming a bomb had been left outside her home.

But on Sunday she was subjected to more threats to her Twitter account.

She wrote: "Planned to be off Twitter, but I've had more threats this morning (rape and worse). It IS still going on. Tried to report to Twitter, failed."

Ms Beard was threatened on Saturday night and reported it to police

She had earlier written: "Just got one of these messages. A bomb has been placed outside your home. It will go off at exactly 10.47pm and destroy everything. Told police.

"OK all, it's 11.00pm and we are still here. So unless the trolling bombers' timekeeping is rotten ... all is well. But how stupidly nasty."

Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live, the 58-year-old added: "There's something very strangely and awkwardly insidious about it.

"It is scary and it has got to stop.

"I didn't actually intellectually feel that I was in danger but I thought I was being harassed, and I thought I was being harassed in a particularly unpleasant way."

Caroline Criado-Perez and MP Stella Creasy have received rape threats

Earlier this week, Prof Beard silenced an internet troll after naming him on Twitter.

She retweeted the "highly offensive" post from Oliver Rawlings, who swiftly apologised after another user threatened to tell his mother.

Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman, Independent columnist Grace Dent and Europe editor of Time magazine Catherine Meyer, as well as a number of other women, have previously said they have been the subject of bomb threats on the site.

Two others received threats of rape.

Tony Wang, Twitter UK general manager, posted a series of tweets on Saturday saying abuse was "simply not acceptable".

The website has introduced a new security button to report abuse

His messages came after the website clarified its rules on abusive behaviour amid a growing backlash over a series of attacks.

Mr Wang wrote: "I personally apologise to the women who have experienced abuse on Twitter and for what they have gone through.

"The abuse they've received is simply not acceptable. It's not acceptable in the real world, and it's not acceptable on Twitter.

"There is more we can and will be doing to protect our users against abuse. That is our commitment."

The company has updated its rules to make it clear that abuse will not be tolerated and has put extra staff in place to handle reports of abuse, it said.

Catherine Mayer, Europe editor at Time, who has also received a bomb threat on Twitter, said she had still not heard anything from the company after reporting the incident.

She told Sky News Online: "I think the in-tweet button to report abuse is a good idea, provided Twitter really does staff up enough to respond quickly and appropriately to complaints.

"Twitter has supposedly issued a personal apology to the women who received abuse, including me presumably.

"But although I notified Twitter of the bomb threat on Wednesday, I have yet to hear anything directly from the company."

The move comes as Scotland Yard said its e-crime unit was investigating allegations by eight people of abuse on the microblogging site.

An online petition calling for Twitter to add a "report abuse" button to tweets has already attracted more than 124,000 signatures.

An "in-tweet" report button has been added so people can report abusive behaviour directly from a tweet, Twitter said.

In separate incidents, Labour MP Stella Creasy and campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, who successfully fought for a woman's face to appear on £10 banknotes, were threatened on Twitter with rape.

Two arrests have already been made in relation to those threats.

The anonymous Twitter accounts from which the bomb threats originated were suspended, although screen grabs were widely circulated online.

Scotland Yard said an investigation into eight allegations had been launched.

The force said: "The Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU), who hold the police national cyber crime remit, is now investigating allegations made by eight people that they have been subject to harassment, malicious communication or bomb threats."

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Little Chef Bought By Kuwaiti Food Group

The Little Chef chain of roadside restaurants has been sold to a Kuwaiti restaurant group.

The company went up for sale in April, six years after it was rescued from administration.

During that time there were several attempts to revive its position in the market as one of the main providers of snack foods for people on the move around Britain.

Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal was among those recruited to inject new life into its traditional menu of mainly fried breakfasts and burgers.

But the chain had been struggling for some time to compete with the other fast food chains and supermarkets that were increasingly occupying motorway service stations.

Now Kuwait restaurant owner Kout Food Group Restaurants UK Limited (KFGR-UK) has bought the company for an unknown amount.

It was rumoured to be on the market for 'tens of millions of pounds'.

KFGR-UK takes over a group, famous for its 'Fat Charlie' logo, that has been slimmed down from more than 400 at its peak to 83 sites beside A-roads all over Britain, all of which are believed to be profitable.

Heston Blumenthal was brought in to revive the fortunes of Little Chef

The seller, venture capital group RCapital, said it was confident that KFGR-UK  would continue to rejuvenate Little Chef's fortunes.

RCapital CEO Jamie Constable said: "Since we put Little Chef up for sale people have asked us, why sell the business?

"The answer is very simple. We are specialists in reversing the fortunes of businesses with significant financial and operational problems.

"We turn businesses around, we rebuild and fix them, that's our business.

"When we bought the chain, it needed huge changes to revive the business and bring it back to profitability.

"Having owned Little Chef for a long time it feels like we are selling part of ourselves.

"But we take comfort from the fact that the new owners will take the brand to the next stage."

KFGR-UK said it had ambitious plans for the company.

Chairperson Fadwa al Homaizi, said: "KFGR-UK has exciting plans to revitalise the Little Chef brand.

"Little Chef will benefit from a process of brand renewal in keeping with current trends, supported by traditional British values."

Kout Food Group runs several branches of Burger King, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in its home country. 

It also operates a portfolio of Middle Eastern brands such as Ayyame, Kabab-ji, Burj Al Hamam and the ice cream parlour Scoop A Cone.

Little Chef employs 1,100 staff and has sites across Britain's A-roads.

After trialling Blumenthal's meals in 2009, his new menus were rolled out to several branches. It is not known if his menus will continue to be served.

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