Pregnant Teen 'Killed By Obsessive Ex-Boyfriend'

A court has heard how a man murdered his teenage ex-girlfriend after discovering she was pregnant with his child.

Ben Blakeley, 22, is alleged to have killed 17-year-old Jayden Parkinson whose body was found in a graveyard at All Saints' Church in Didcot, Oxfordshire, last year.

Blakeley, from Reading, Berkshire, denies murdering Miss Parkinson, but he has admitted killing her and disposing of her body.

Miss Parkinson was last seen alive on December 3, 2013, when she was caught on CCTV leaving the One Foot Forward hostel in Oxford where she had been staying.

Half an hour later she was caught by another CCTV camera, this time at Didcot railway station with Blakeley.

Just after midnight the hostel reported Miss Parkinson missing to police after she failed to return.

Richard Latham QC, prosecuting, said: "The prosecution case is that Jayden was killed by Ben Blakeley that same evening in open countryside south of Didcot - there is no dispute between prosecution and defence.

"We cannot be precise about location for this simple reason - unlike most killings the body was moved from where the offence occurred.

Miss Parkinson was last seen alive on December 3

"There is only one person alive who knows the truth and we would invite you to be very sceptical about what he says or has said."

Oxford Crown Court heard Blakeley was an obsessive and controlling character and regularly beat his ex-girlfriend.

Mr Latham told the court: "On any view (their relationship) was difficult. We allege he was controlling, to an obsessive and excessive degree.

"He was violent and abusive to her and controlling and hitting her."

Mr Latham told jurors that Miss Parkinson found the ending of the relationship difficult.

"She found it difficult to let go and hours before her death she left the hostel to meet him - it was the last time she was seen alive," said Mr Latham.

Despite admitting he killed Miss Parkinson, the prosecution refused to accept his plea and he is standing trial for her murder alongside a 17-year-old boy who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The youth has pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, but he denies preventing a lawful burial between December 2 and December 10 last year.

The trial continues.

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Arrests After Newborn's Body Found In Hull

Two people have been arrested after the body of a newborn baby girl was found on a cycle path in Hull.

Police were called to the scene, between Rockford Avenue and Lamorna Avenue, close to the East Park area of the city, at around 9.15pm on Saturday.

They had been contacted by a member of the public who had discovered the baby's body while walking along the path.

Officers closed off the area and carried out a preliminary investigation, which led to a man and a woman being taken into custody.

A spokesman for Humberside Police said: "Officers attended right away and closed off the area for the body to be recovered and for initial inquiries to take place.

"As a result of the initial investigation two people, a man and woman, have been arrested and are helping police with inquiries at this time."

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Iraq Crisis Hits Airlines And Travel Firms

Airline and travel companies have seen their share prices fall in the wake of the latest violence to hit oil exporter Iraq.

EasyJet, IAG and TUI Travel, all operators of fuel-hungry aeroplanes, all saw their share prices fall on Monday.

The cost of a barrel of Brent Crude - used to price international oil - jumped sharply a couple of weeks ago when trouble first flared.

But has now risen even further to stand at above $115, close to Thursday's high and nearing the $115.71 reached on September 9 last year.

"Any spillovers of fighting into the oil-producing southern parts of Iraq will likely take oil, in particular the Brent prices up by another leg," Mizuho Bank analysts said.

Iraqi special forces during a patrol in Ramadi in central Iraq

Iraq is oil cartel Opec's second largest oil producer, pumping out more than 3 million barrels a day.

Global oil prices are close to breaking the nine-month high as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants took four more towns in western Iraq.

ISIS also took a border crossing into Syria on Saturday, amid reports indicating another crossing into Syria.

Sunni tribesmen have taken a border crossing into Jordan to halt it falling to ISIS.

Further pressure to oil prices on Monday came from China, as a report indicated increased output from its manufacturing sector.

HSBC's monthly China manufacturing survey showed activity expanded for the first time this year, indicating that the slowdown in the country's economy is bottoming out, which would lead to increased energy demand.

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HS3 Line From Leeds To Manchester Outlined

By Jason Farrell, Senior Political Correspondent

Britain needs a third high-speed railway line to create "a northern powerhouse", George Osborne said today.

The Chancellor used a speech in Manchester to argue that he wants to go beyond the north-south HS2 to create an east-west HS3.

In doing so he hopes to create "a collection of cities - sufficiently close to each other that combined they can take on the world".

The east-west connection between Leeds and Manchester would be based on existing rail routes but speeded up with new tunnels and infrastructure.

The first phase of HS2

It is an effort to address Britain's financial dependence on London, which currently accounts for nearly a quarter of the country's economic output.

Mr Osborne said: "The cities of the North are individually strong, but collectively not strong enough. The whole is less than the sum of its parts. So the powerhouse of London dominates more and more. And that's not healthy for our economy. It's not good for our country.

"We need a northern powerhouse too. Not one city, but a collection of northern cities - sufficiently close to each other that combined they can take on the world. Able to provide jobs and opportunities and security to the many, many people who live here, and for whom this is all about."

Together, the North's largest cities have a higher population than hubs such as New York and Tokyo, Mr Osborne added.

The high-speed network with HS3

Under current plans the £50bn HS2 project will provide 225mph trains from London to Birmingham in its first stage, before creating a Y-shaped network with lines to Manchester and Leeds by 2032/33.

The £21bn second phase would then connect Leeds and Manchester - but it remains an aspiration rather than a pledge.

The Government claims at least 60,000 jobs would be created in "the most important investment in the north for a century".

The proposal will be seen as an attempt to win support for the Conservatives outside their southern heartlands before the 2015 General Election, but a number of MPs with constituencies along the route are opposed to the project.

Mr Osborne said: "Of course, there are opponents of the project - just as there were opponents of the original railways. I've discovered that almost everything worth doing in politics is controversial."

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Iraq: 'More Than 1,500' British Jihad Recruits

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 10:23am UK, Monday 23 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

President Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

June 17: Britain announces it is reopening its Iranian embassy, with William Hague saying the "circumstances are right" as the West looks to improve relations to help tackle the crisis in Iraq.

Iraq's Shia leaders accuse Saudi Arabia of promoting "genocide" by backing Sunni militants.

June 18: Iraq's foreign minister asks the US to carry out airstrikes to help reverse the sweeping gains of Islamist militants in the country.

David Cameron warns that if Britain does not intervene in the Middle East crisis then terrorists will "hit the UK at home".

Insurgents are seen parading through the city of Baiji with captured vehicles after reports they have taken over three-quarters of Iraq's biggest oil refinery.

ISIS charts its brutality and tactics in annual reports called al-Naba - The Report, it emerges.

June 19: Iraqi authorities say government forces have retaken the Baiji oil refinery after fierce fighting.

Barck Obama says US troops will not return to combat in Iraq, but he would be prepared to take "targeted action".

The president also announces additional equipment and up to 300 additional military advisers could be provided to help fight the ISIS insurgency.

June 20: Iraq's senior Shia religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani calls for a new government for the country as it struggles to stop Sunni militants.

Barack Obama piles further pressure on Iraq's PM Nouri al Maliki, saying he needs to take urgent steps to heal the sectarian rift in the country, but stopping short of demanding he quit.

A video of British jihadists urging Western Muslims to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria emerges on social media.

June 21: The family of Naseer Muthana, 20, who appears in the ISIS recruitment video and younger brother Aseel, 17, who followed him to fight in the region say they are "devastated". 

The men's father Ahmed Muthana tells Sky News he believes his son Nasser was radicalised in a mosque in the United Kingdom.

In Iraq, dozens of Iraqi troops are killed as ISIS militants seize the crucial Qaim crossing into Syria.

A Shia preacher loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada al Sadr warns that the 300 US military advisers en route to Iraq will be attacked.

June 22: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes out in opposition of US intervention in neighbouring Iraq.

President Barack Obama warns ISIS could grow in power, destabilise the region and pose a threat to the US.

The mother of one of two Britons filmed in a militants' video calling for Western Muslims to fight in Syria and Iraq, Reyaad Khan, pleads for him to come home in an emotional Sky News interview.

A former head of counter-terrorism at MI6 tells Sky's Murnaghan programme up to 300 Islamist fighters from Iraq and Syria may have returned to the UK and it would be "impossible" to keep track of all of them.

June 23: Barack Obama warns ISIS could pose a threat to the US, hours after the Islamist militants make dramatic gains by capturing four towns in western Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Baghdad for talks with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.

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Hundreds Of Kids Smuggle Drugs Into School

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs and Education Editor

Hundreds of children are bringing drugs, including class A substances, into UK schools every year.

Figures obtained by Sky News show more than 1,000 pupils have been caught carrying drugs in schools over the past three years.

Among those pupils, 27 were found with class A drugs.

Some 93 pupils were charged with drugs offences, including six at primary school.

The figures come from 32 of the UK's 44 police forces but do not include some of the country's largest, including the Met and Greater Manchester.

Campaigners are concerned drug use among children is a problem that is being ignored.

Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of charity Kids Company, which works with children from deprived backgrounds, said: "A lot of (children) are born into households where their parents are prolifically abusing substances.

"What we're seeing now is that eight and nine year olds are beginning to smoke weed and skunk and then they go on to harder stuff.

"Unfortunately, in a lot of neighbourhoods, children see the drug trade as a completely legitimate way of making a living.

"It's become so familiar and in a way it's become so normalised because children are completely surrounded by adults who are using."

One 18-year-old who was addicted to cannabis for three years said drug use had been common among children her age.

Jade Clement, from Poole, Dorset, who now campaigns for the charity Fixers, said: "I always had a friend that I was smoking with. We constantly had to lie, tell our parents we were going to the cinema or swimming - anything like that so we could get a tenner.

"I was meant to be in school ... (but) if I had weed left over from the night before then I wasn't going in.

"I couldn't be bothered. It didn't interest me (and) the only reason I went in was so I could plan (to take drugs) with my friends ... that's all school was really about."

The Government says drugs have 'no place whatsoever in the classroom'

Schools in affluent areas say they are equally concerned about the likelihood their pupils will be exposed to drug use.

At The Hall, a prestigious independent school in north London, former addicts are invited to speak to pupils to warn them about the dangers of drug use.

Thirteen-year-old student Callum said: "It's quite daunting that I'll be offered drugs in the next three to five years. It leads me to think, 'What will I say? Will I be pressured?'"

The Government said banned items like alcohol and drugs have "no place whatsoever in the classroom".

A Department for Education spokesman said: "We've introduced a range of powers for teachers to ensure discipline, behaviour and safety are maintained.

"Teachers can now search a pupil without consent when they suspect they may be in possession of a prohibited item.

"Changes to the system mean a school's decision to exclude a pupil cannot be reversed by an appeals panel.

"Our guidance also makes clear that teachers can use force to remove disruptive pupils from the classroom when necessary."

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Government 'Has Lost Control Of The NHS'

A Conservative health minister is under fire after she was recorded chuckling and saying the Government no longer has any proper "day-to-day control" over the NHS.

Jane Ellison was taped telling a private meeting of the Tory Reform Group that providing political direction to the health service "is a bit like being on a high-wire without a (safety) net".

She said reforms driven through by former health secretary Andrew Lansley, which gave doctors operational control for the day-to-day running of services, meant the Government "pretty much gave away control of the NHS".

Her comments were seized upon by Labour, which accused ministers of "washing their hands of responsibility for our NHS".

Jamie Reed, the shadow health minister, told the Observer newspaper that patients in "full-to-bursting A&E departments" would not find the reforms as thrilling as Ms Ellison appeared to.

"Mr Lansley's NHS shake-up was a £3bn fiasco that nobody wanted and nobody voted for," he said.

"All it succeeded in doing was in increasing bureaucracy and driving costs up."

The changes pushed through by Mr Lansley handed GPs control over 80% of the £100bn-a-year NHS budget, with doctors split into groups to commission services, including from private companies.

A spokesman for the Department of Health told Sky News: "Giving operational control for the day-to-day running of services to doctors was the right decision but we've always been clear that ministers are responsible for the NHS.

"We're proud of its performance in challenging circumstances."

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Mums-To-Be 'In The Dark About Silent Killer'

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky Reporter

A new campaign has been launched to highlight the need to protect pregnant women from a virus that can cause miscarriages, physical disabilities, deafness and blindness.

Many people carry CMV (Cytomegalovirus) - dubbed the "silent killer" because many people are unaware they have it - however, it can be extremely dangerous to unborn babies.

It currently affects 1,000 babies every year, a higher number than Down's syndrome, but there is no vaccine or screening programme.

It is normally spread through bodily fluids, so doctors say the best way for pregnant women to protect themselves is to wash their hands thoroughly.

Charity CMV Action, backed by pop star Kimberley Walsh, is trying to raise awareness by getting people to take pictures of their hands with the words "Wash away CMV" written on the palm.

Mandy Parks with her daughter Alicia, who was affected by the CMV virus

Professor Mike Sharland, children's infections specialist at St George's Hospital in London, told Sky News it is important to raise awareness among parents.

"In pregnancy because your immune system is a little weaker, if you catch the virus, very rarely it can go across to the baby and cause problems for the baby as well," he said.

Fifteen-year-old Alicia Parks caught CMV when she was in her mother's womb.

It left her blind, unable to talk or walk and needing 24-hour care.

Her mother, Mandy, is backing the campaign to raise awareness and believes more needs to be done to support parents,

"Sometimes I think the system brings you down because you fight for everything. You fight to prove that they are worse than a two-year-old or three-year-old or four-year-old, you fight for a disabled grant to adapt your house, you fight the system to prove that you can't go to work because now you're 24/7 looking after someone."

Research is ongoing into a possible vaccine for the future or more accurate screening programme, but at the moment experts insist the best protection for mothers is to wash their hands.

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Colchester Stabbing Victim's Mum 'Terrified'

The mother of a vulnerable man who was stabbed more than 100 times in Colchester has told Sky News she has "total faith" in the police investigation.

Jim Attfield's murder in a park in March is being investigated alongside last Tuesday's killing of Saudi student Nahid Almanea elsewhere in the town.

"I know they are not leaving any stone unturned," Mr Attfield's mother Julie Finch told Sky News as police announced they had made a "significant development" in the investigations.

"Every bit of information they get, any bit of evidence, anything they find is thoroughly, thoroughly looked at."

Mr Attfield was found in Castle Park just miles from the other killing

Police have said it is not yet clear if the two killings were carried out by the same people, but acknowledge the attacks, in which the victims were stabbed multiple times, bear "obvious similarities".

In the statement on Saturday, Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Worron of Essex Police said: "A criminal profiler from the National Crime Agency has carried out a thorough assessment of all the evidence in connection with both murders.

"A decision has been taken that they remain separate but parallel investigations at this time.

Police have been searching the site MS Almanea's murder for several days

"However the circumstances of both crimes mean that we must consider the possibility that the same killer or killers are responsible."

Ms Finch said she was "terrified" for her daughters following the murders.

"They don't go out on their own, I won't go out on my own. And it just goes to prove with this latest murder, it doesn't matter what time of day it is, where you are," she said.

Mr Attfield was seen on CCTV at a pub hours before his killing

"Everybody just has to be so much more vigilant, not just for their own safety, they have to be aware of the safety of people around them because obviously for these murderers to be caught will depend of information coming from the public."

Mr Attfield, a father-of-five, suffered from a brain injury after being hit by a car four years earlier.

His body was found with wounds on his arms, hands, back, neck and head in Colchester's Castle Park in the early hours of March 29. 

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Colchester Police Hunt Suspect In Brown Jacket

Colchester Police Seek 'Running Man' Over Murder

Updated: 4:28am UK, Sunday 22 June 2014

Police have said they want to speak to a man seen running close to where Saudi student Nahid Almanea was killed.

The white man, aged between 18 and 25, of medium build and with dark hair was spotted to coming out of an alleyway which indirectly links to to the Salary Brook Trail, where the 31-year-old was stabbed.

He was wearing a long sleeved, plain hooded top that is described as London bus red and dark trousers.

Ms Almanea was stabbed 16 times while walking along a path on Tuesday morning.

Officers are carrying out door-to-door inquiries today in their search for the suspect.

In a statement, Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Worron said police also wanted to hear from anyone who could help identify a man wanted for questioning over an attack on a woman in Peache Road, Colchester, at around 10pm on June 19.

"The location of this attack, and some aspects of it, including reports that a knife was seen and the victim was a woman, mean that this suspect is also of interest to the Almanea investigation," he said.

The attacker was described as white, in his early 20s, and around 5ft 7in to 5ft 8in tall. He was of medium build and had a narrow face, appeared unwell, and possibly had fair hair.

Ms Almanea had been taking an English language course at the University of Essex as part of her studies for a life sciences PhD.

Police released a CCTV picture of the 31-year-old taken moments before her death and a map of her likely route from the home she shared with her brother to the spot on the Salary Brook trail where her body was found.

Police have previously said the fact that Ms Almanea was stabbed multiple times bore "obvious similarities" to the murder of James Attfield, a vulnerable man with brain damage who was stabbed more than 100 times in a park in Colchester in March.

In the statement on Saturday, police said it was still not clear whether the two killings had been carried out by the same person.

"A criminal profiler from the National Crime Agency has carried out a thorough assessment of all the evidence in connection with both murders," DCS Worron said.

"A decision has been taken that they remain separate but parallel investigations at this time.

"However the circumstances of both crimes mean that we must consider the possibility that the same killer or killers are responsible."

Police have urged people to remain vigilant and be careful about going out alone following the attacks.

Superintendent Steve Ditchburn said extra patrols were being carried out across the town.

"Our advice to people is that we have now had two knife murders in Colchester in less than three months where the motive for the attacks remains unknown," he said.

"Both of these attacks were on lone people who were in locations where it appears no one else was nearby at the time.

"For that reason we would remind people to take sensible precautions to stay safe. This includes avoiding any situations in which you could find yourself isolated and alone in a public area."

:: Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Investigation Team on 01245 282103, Essex Police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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