Cameron Admits Policies Have 'Hurt Families'

All government policies will have to pass a "family test" under plans announced by David Cameron.

The Prime Minister used a speech to admit children and parents have often suffered as the result of legislation.

From October, Whitehall impact assessments for policies will have to formally consider their effects on families, alongside factors such as cost effectiveness and the environment.

Mr Cameron also unveiled figures that showed adoptions have increased by a quarter following efforts to improve the system - and a doubling of funding for relationship counselling through Relate, to £19.5m.

"I want every government department to be held to account for the impact of their policies on the family," the PM said.

"The reality is that in the past the family just hasn't been central to the way government thinks.

"So you get a whole load of policy decisions which take no account of the family and sometimes make these things worse.

"Whether it's the benefits system incentivising couples to live apart or penalising those who go out to work or whether it's excessive bureaucracy preventing loving couples from adopting children with no family at all.

"We can't go on having government taking decisions like this which ignore the impact on the family.

"I said previously that we would introduce a family test into government. Now that test is being formalised as part of the impact assessment for all domestic policies.

"Put simply, that means every single domestic policy that government comes up with will be examined for its impact on the family."

Education Minister Nick Boles told Sky News: "It basically will say if you have got a policy, you want to get it through, you have got to be able to demonstrate with evidence that this policy is going to be help families and not in any way do anything to undermine families, and that actually a very powerful tool in government to make sure all policies are furthering that goal."

Mr Cameron's speech comes as the Government prepares to launch an extension of its programme to tackle troubled families, set up by the Prime Minister following the 2011 riots across English cities.

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Cameron: 'We Are Not Going To War In Iraq'

David Cameron has insisted that Britain will not be getting involved in another war in Iraq.

He spoke out after reports Britain had briefly sent some ground troops to Irbil, to prepare the way for a rescue mission to help displaced Yazidi people.

His comments came amid reports on Iraqi state TV that Kurdish troops have retaken the strategic Mosul dam from Islamic militants.

The UK is considering arming peshmerga troops fighting IS extremists

Peshmerga fighters have been battling Islamic State fighters, with the aid of US airstrikes, after the dam was seized by the militants 10 days ago.

The Islamic State group denied they had lost control of the dam and there were reports of fierce fighting on the southern side of the facility.

Mr Cameron made his strongly worded statement this morning amid confusion over the UK's involvement in Iraq after a series of media interviews by senior ministers. 

He said: "I want to be absolutely clear to you and to families watching at home. Britain is not going to get involved in another war in Iraq.

A US airstrike against an IS position near Mosul Dam

"We are not going to be putting boots on the ground. We are not going to be sending in the British Army."

Mr Cameron has previously conceded that Britain's role will go beyond humanitarian aid and involve limited action to prevent violence spreading to British streets.

But he said: "So we are helping the Kurds, we are working with the Iraqi government to make sure it is more representative of the whole country.

"And, of course, we are working with neighbours and allies to put the maximum amount of pressure on IS and make sure it is properly dealt with.

Michael Fallon says Britain's involvement could last 'weeks and months'

"We have said that if the Kurds, the peshmerga, want to have arms from us, that is something we would consider favourably."

Mr Cameron appeared on television after Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the UK's Iraq mission would likely last "weeks and months".

Mr Fallon was addressing British troops in Cyprus as it emerged that UK soldiers have been back on the ground in Iraq for the first time since 2009.

The soldiers, from the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire regiment, were briefly sent to Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, to prepare the way for a Yazidi rescue mission.

Sheikh Khalah Sheikh Alyas: 'IS killed our young people'

It is understood the rescue operation would involve Chinook helicopters and the ground troops remained in the country for only 24 hours.

Sky News Political Correspondent Anushka Asthana said the UK's position on Iraq was "a little confusing" after various newspaper and TV interviews by the PM and Mr Fallon.

Asthana said some had interpreted the PM's commitment to providing more than humanitarian aid in Iraq as meaning there would be military action.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said discussions with the Kurdish regional government were focusing on what weapons to supply Kurdish troops.

Kurdish officials will take part in negotiations on forming a new Iraqi government, according to the outgoing foreign minister Hoshiyar Zebari.

It paves the way for improved ties between Kurds and the central administration.

The retaking of Mosul Dam - the country's largest dam - would be considered a major victory in the fight against militants.

Army spokesman Lt Gen Qassim al-Moussawi said the dam itself was secured by peshmerga troops and Iraqi security forces.

But he said that the southern side of the complex remains contested and that fierce fighting is underway to free that area.

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Britons' Swim Ordeal After Tourist Boat Sinks

Two Britons have received hospital treatment and two people remain missing after a tourist boat sank while travelling between islands in Indonesia.

The tourists were on a boat travelling from Lombok island to the Komodo Islands when the vessel is believed to have been hit by stormy weather.

A total of 23 people have been rescued - including the two Britons - but the fate of two foreign tourists is not known. 

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office confirmed the two Britons had been hospitalised following the accident on Saturday night. 

"We are in contact with the local authorities about the incident and stand ready to offer consular assistance to any other British nationals who may be involved," the spokeswoman said.

Several boats have been involved in the search for survivors

An Indonesian search and rescue official said the boat was carrying 20 foreigners and five locals in total.

The boat sank at 7pm on Saturday, but the alarm was only raised with rescue teams at 8am on Sunday due to "poor communication",  the official said.

Local fishermen saved a number of people near the island of Sumbawa before the rescue team arrived, he said.

Ten people were rescued first on Sunday, including tourists from  Britain, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and France.

French survivor Bertrand Homassel described how the boat started sinking after it was damaged in a storm.

The journey between Lombok and Komodo can take three days by boat

Speaking from a hotel in Bima on Sumbawa, where the survivors were taken after being rescued, he said: "Six people were in the lifeboat. The others climbed on to the roof of the boat, which had not completely sunk.

"We waited until midday on Saturday. We were five kilometres (three miles) from the coast - there were many big waves separating us from the coast.

"People started to panic ... Everyone took the decision to swim to the closest island, five kilometres away, where there was an erupting volcano."

Mr Homassel said the group swam for six hours before arriving at the island of Sangeang, where they survived the night by drinking their own urine and eating leaves.

They were rescued on Sunday after they attracted the attention of a passing boat.

Rescue official Budiawan, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said: "They were all found together, some in a lifeboat and some floating with their life jackets on around 60 miles (100km) off Sape.

"Budiawan, head of the search and rescue agency on Lombok island which lies to the west of Sumbawa, said they were now in the town of Sape.

"The search operation is continuing this morning, and involves the military and police."

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Julian Assange Will Leave Embassy 'Soon'

What Has Julian Assange's WikiLeaks Achieved?

Updated: 1:22pm UK, Monday 18 August 2014

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

Four years ago, WikiLeaks was the future of whistleblowing and perhaps even journalism - a new era in transparency and accountability.

The Afghanistan and Iraq war logs, supplied by Chelsea Manning and published by WikiLeaks, dominated the news.

US Vice President Joe Biden called the website's founder Julian Assange "a terrorist".

Even before Mr Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, WikiLeaks had grown quiet, though, offering fewer agenda-setting scoops and, instead, more esoteric revelations.

'Trade in Services Agreement - Financial Services Annex', anyone?

It still aimed for large-scale leaks, but it disappointed.

Last year, it released 1.7 million diplomatic and intelligence papers. From the 1970s.

WikiLeaks' Twitter feed - thought to be run by Mr Assange - also became unhinged.

It ranted when The Guardian chose Malala Yousafzai as its person of the year to suit the newspaper's "pro-war" agenda.

It also said that the attacks on the US embassy in Benghazi were justified by UK's police presence outside the Ecuadorian embassy. 

In the meantime, another whistleblower has found more notoriety - and had more impact - than Mr Assange ever did.

Edward Snowden may also be holed up under the protection of a foreign government, but he continues to shape the news agenda.

Like Mr Assange, he also worked with mainstream media organisations like The Guardian and the New York Times. 

If WikiLeaks was about "exploiting the scale, reach and immunity afforded by the network of the internet", as Charlie Beckett has written, Mr Snowden went either one step forwards or backwards.

Backwards, because he worked with newspapers, just like an old-fashioned whistleblower.

Forwards, because thanks to his technical prowess, he was able to make off with millions of documents - information on the network scale - and, thanks to a pretty savvy manipulation of modern communications tools, he continues to influence events remotely.

Essentially, he played the same role as Chelsea Manning, but has managed to control the story a lot better.

Mr Snowden didn't need WikiLeaks to help with any of that, which must aggrieve Mr Assange. 

Even if Mr Assange does leave the embassy, it probably won't mean the rejuvenation of WikiLeaks. The story has moved on and it hasn't.

But its influence is still considerable.

Every news organisation now has their own take on WikiLeaks' dead drop boxes for electronic documents.

And the power of gathering vast troves of information, then using sophisticated search and tagging techniques to comb them, has become part of journalism. 

While Mr Assange spent two years watching box sets of The Twilight Zone and The West Wing, others have been getting on with WikiLeaks' stated aim: "To bring important news and information to the public."

And they've been using the techniques pioneered by WikiLeaks to do it.

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Abseilers Give Big Ben's Great Clock Some TLC

Big Ben's Great Clock has been getting a wash from cleaners who have heads for heights.

High above Westminster, a team of experts abseiled down from the 314ft tower to check the four dials of the iconic timepiece.

As well as cleaning the faces, they are also inspecting for any damage.

The work is expected to take about a week.

The clock was installed in the tower in April 1859, and at the time cost £2,500 to make.

At first, it did not work as the cast-iron minute hands were too heavy.

Once they were replaced by lighter copper hands, it successfully began keeping time on May 31, 1859.

The gongs of the Great Bell were heard for the first time on July 11 of that year.

The name Big Ben is often used to describe the tower, the clock and the bell but the name was first given to the Great Bell.

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Legal Highs 'More Lethal Than Heroin' Warning

Glastonbury Backs Legal Highs Blackout Campaign

Updated: 2:50pm UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

The Glastonbury festival website has been blacked out in support of a campaign against so-called "legal highs".

Visitors to the festival's website saw a light bulb and the message: "Don't Be In the Dark About Legal Highs."

It is part of a campaign called Don't Be In The Dark by members of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF).

Upon clicking the light bulb, information on "legal highs" appeared, allowing users to find out more about them or go to the normal page.

More than 20 other festivals, who have already banned "legal highs" at their events, took part by blacking out their websites and not posting anything on social media accounts.

They were: T in the Park, Bestival, Lovebox, Global Gathering, Secret Garden Party, Sonisphere, We Are FSTVL, 2000trees, ArcTanGent, Kendal Calling, Festibelly, Blissfields, Truck, Brownstock, Y Not Festival, Tramlines, Belladrum Tartan Heart, Hebridean Celtic Festival, Leefest, Nozstock, Wakestock, Shambala, Glasgow Summer Sessions, Parklife and Eden Sessions.

"Legal highs" are designed to produce similar effects to illegal drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy, but are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

This is because many are advertised as "not for human consumption" and sold as bath salts, research chemicals or plant food.

AIF co-founder and vice chair Ben Turner said "legal highs" are a "serious concern".

He said: "The substances have managed to fly under-the-radar purely by evolving faster than the monitoring bodies can regulate.

"Banning it at our festivals is only part of the battle however, we need to make fans aware of the dangers of legal highs and help them make safer choices when having fun on site."

Maryon Stewart, founder of the Angelus Foundation, which warns of the dangers of the substances, said: "Legal highs are a huge but hidden problem because young people are acting in ignorance and no-one is measuring the harms.

"As the lead organisation raising awareness of these substances, Angelus is delighted the festivals are taking the issue seriously and helping to keep their audiences safe."

The Reading and Leeds festivals, which are not members of the AIF, banned "legal highs" last year.

A report released earlier this year showed that there has been a large rise in the number of deaths linked to them.

The number of cases in which novel psychoactive substances were identified as the cause of death rose from 10 in 2009 to 68 in 2012.

The research by St George's, University of London, also showed the prevalence of the drugs in post-mortem toxicology tests increased from 12 in 2009 to 97 in 2012 - a jump of 800%.

The government has launched a review into the substances which will consider whether legislation is necessary to protect public health.

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Murder Suspect Released From Prison By Mistake

An inquiry is under way after a man awaiting trial for murder was released from jail by mistake, despite protesting to prison officers that he was supposed to be on his way to court.

Martynas Kupstysj, 25, was waiting in line at Lincoln prison when prison staff handed over his belongings and informed him he was a free man.

Despite telling them that he was due in court with other inmates he was escorted outside and told he could leave.

A confused Mr Kupstysj spent the next few hours wandering around Lincoln city centre while prison officers who realised their mistake launched a frantic search for him.

Prison staff eventually spotted the inmate waiting at a bus stop outside the prison and he was taken back into custody.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson confirmed the prisoner had been freed by mistake.

"A prisoner from Lincoln was released in error on 8 August. The police were notified immediately and he was arrested within hours. An investigation by a senior governor has been launched," she said.

"We take public protection extremely seriously and this type of incident is a very rare but regrettable occurrence."

HMP Lincoln governor Peter Wright told the Lincolnshire Echo the mix-up was "a very grave matter".

"An independent investigation has been launched by the prison service," he said.

"This should not happen. I've made dramatic changes already. It was a fundamental breach of what we are here to do."

Lithuanian Mr Kupstysj is charged, along with his brother-in-law Andrus Giedraitis, with the murder of 24-year-old Latvian Ivans Zdanovics, whose body was found following a fire at his Lincolnshire home in January.

Mr Kupstysj's wife Sandra Giedraityte, 28, is charged with perverting the course of justice.

The men will now face a retrial early next year.

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Police Hunt Lorry Driver In CCTV Footage

Belgian police say they are almost certain they have CCTV images of the lorry and driver that dropped a container carrying 35 immigrants at a UK-bound ferry.

Crews discovered the group - thought to be victims of human trafficking - when "banging and screaming" was heard at Tilbury Docks in Essex.

One man was found dead and others were rushed to hospital suffering from severe dehydration and hypothermia.

Interpol and other international forces are now helping Essex Police trace the lorry's route across Europe and find the suspected traffickers.

Peter De Waele, a spokesman for Belgium's federal police, told Sky News that detectives were checking "every image" of CCTV from Zeebrugge port.

"We have a lot of cameras and we are very hopeful for having information about identification of the driver.

Police at Tilbury Docks

"When you know that in this area there are a lot of cameras, you know also that we have plenty of information about the truck and the driver, and the firm who put the container in Zeebrugge."

Mr De Waele said the container was only at the busy port for about an hour and police believe the victims were probably already inside when it arrived.

Essex Police have launched a "homicide" investigation after the death of the male immigrant and detectives said charges could include murder or manslaughter.

Superintendent Trevor Roe said the probe would "span a number of countries".

Seven ambulances rushed the immigrants to three different hospitals when the alarm was raised early on Saturday morning.

Among them, 18 were taken to Basildon Hospital with dehydration and hypothermia, two in a serious but not life-threatening condition.

The hospital has now said the group - which included seven children - are "medically fit enough" to be released.

Basildon Hospital says 18 of the group can be discharged (File Pic)

Information on the ages of the immigrants or the relationship between them has not yet been released.

The group were found at 7.35am on Saturday when the Norsteam, a commercial ship run by P&O Ferries, was being unloaded in Tilbury.

The container was loaded onto a ship in Zeebrugge

Natalie Hardy, a company spokeswoman, said the ship had travelled overnight from Belgium and was carrying 64 containers, 72 trailers and five lorries and drivers.

"When they went to unload containers there was a noise heard, a banging. One unfortunately was dead and others were taken to hospital."

James Brokenshire MP, immigration and security minister, has called the incident a "reminder of the often devastating human consequences of illegal migration" and said gangs are dealing in a "brutal trade in human lives".

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PM Warns Of Terror State On Europe's Doorstep

'Poisonous Extremism' Warning

Updated: 10:57pm UK, Saturday 16 August 2014

By David Cameron, Letter In The Sunday Telegraph

Stability. Security. The peace of mind that comes from being able to get a decent job and provide for your family, in a country that you feel has a good future ahead of it and that treats people fairly.

In a nutshell, that is what people in Britain want - and what the Government I lead is dedicated to building.

Britain - our economy, our security, our future - must come first.

After a deep and damaging recession, and our involvement in long and difficult conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is hardly surprising that so many people say to me when seeing the tragedies unfolding on their television screens: "Yes, let's help with aid, but let's not get any more involved."

I agree that we should avoid sending armies to fight or occupy.

But we need to recognise that the brighter future we long for requires a long-term plan for our security as well as for our economy.

True security will only be achieved if we use all our resources - aid, diplomacy, our military prowess - to help bring about a more stable world.

Today, when every nation is so immediately interconnected, we cannot turn a blind eye and assume that there will not be a cost for us if we do.

The creation of an extremist caliphate in the heart of Iraq and extending into Syria is not a problem miles away from home.

Nor is it a problem that should be defined by a war 10 years ago. It is our concern here and now.

Because if we do not act to stem the onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britain.

We already know that it has the murderous intent. Indeed, the first Isis-inspired terrorist acts on the continent of Europe have already taken place.

Our first priority has of course been to deal with the acute humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

We should be proud of the role that our brave armed services and aid workers have played in the international effort.

British citizens have risked their lives to get 80 tons of vital supplies to the Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar.

It is right that we use our aid programme to respond rapidly to a situation like this: Britain has given £13 million to support the aid effort.

We also helped to plan a detailed international rescue operation and we remain ready and flexible to respond to the ongoing challenges in or around Dahuk, where more than 450,000 people have increased the population by 50 per cent.

But a humanitarian response alone is not enough. We also need a broader political, diplomatic and security response.

For that, we must understand the true nature of the threat we face.

We should be clear: this is not the "War on Terror", nor is it a war of religions. It is a struggle for decency, tolerance and moderation in our modern world.

It is a battle against a poisonous ideology that is condemned by all faiths and by all faith leaders, whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim.

Of course there is conflict between Shias and Sunnis, but that is the wrong way to see what is really happening.

What we are witnessing is actually a battle between Islam on the one hand and extremists who want to abuse Islam on the other.

These extremists, often funded by fanatics living far away from the battlefields, pervert the Islamic faith as a way of justifying their warped and barbaric ideology - and they do so not just in Iraq and Syria but right across the world, from Boko Haram and al-Shabaab to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

So this threat cannot simply be removed by airstrikes alone. We need a tough, intelligent and patient long-term approach that can defeat the terrorist threat at source.

First, we need a firm security response, whether that is military action to go after the terrorists, international co-operation on intelligence and counter-terrorism or uncompromising action against terrorists at home.

On Friday we agreed with our European partners that we will provide equipment directly to the Kurdish forces; we are now identifying what we might supply, from body armour to specialist counter-explosive equipment.

We have also secured a United Nations Security Council resolution to disrupt the flows of finance to Isis, sanction those who are seeking to recruit for it and encourage countries to do all they can to prevent foreign fighters joining the extremist cause.

Here in Britain we have recently introduced stronger powers through our Immigration Act to deprive naturalised Britons of their citizenship if they are suspected of being involved in terrorist activities.

We have taken down 28,000 pieces of terrorist-related material from the web, including 46 Isis-related videos.

And I have also discussed the police response to this growing threat of extremism with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.

The position is clear. If people are walking around with Isis flags or trying to recruit people to their terrorist cause, they will be arrested and their materials will be seized.

We are a tolerant people, but no tolerance should allow the room for this sort of poisonous extremism in our country.

Alongside a tough security response, there must also be an intelligent political response. We know that terrorist organisations thrive where there is political instability and weak or dysfunctional political institutions.

So we must support the building blocks of democracy - the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, the rights of minorities, free media and association and a proper place in society for the army.

None of these things can be imposed by the West. Every country must make its own way. But we can and must play a valuable role in supporting them to do that.

Isis militants have exploited the absence of a unified and representative government in Baghdad. So we strongly welcome the opportunity of a new start with Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi.

I spoke to him earlier this week and assured him that we will support any attempts to forge a genuinely inclusive government that can unite all Iraqi communities - Sunnis, Shias and Kurds - against the common enemy of Isis, which threatens the way of life of them all.

The international community will rally around this new government. But Iraq's neighbours in the region are equally vital.

So we must work with countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the UAE, Egypt and Turkey against these extremist forces, and perhaps even with Iran, which could choose this moment to engage with the international community against this shared threat.

I want Britain to play a leading role in this diplomatic effort. So we will be appointing a Special Representative to the Kurdistan Regional Government and using the Nato summit in Wales and the United Nations General Assembly in New York to help rally support across the international community.

Finally, while being tough and intelligent, we must also be patient and resolute. We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a poisonous and extremist ideology, which I believe we will be fighting for the rest of my political lifetime.

We face in Isis a new threat that is single-minded, determined and unflinching in pursuit of its objectives.

Already it controls not just thousands of minds, but thousands of square miles of territory, sweeping aside much of the boundary between Iraq and Syria to carve out its so-called caliphate.

It makes no secret of its expansionist aims. Even today it has the ancient city of Aleppo firmly within its sights.

And it boasts of its designs on Jordan and Lebanon, and right up to the Turkish border. If it succeeds, we would be facing a terrorist state on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a Nato member.

This is a clear danger to Europe and to our security.

It is a daunting challenge. But it is not an invincible one, as long as we are now ready and able to summon up the political will to defend our own values and way of life with the same determination, courage and tenacity as we have faced danger before in our history.

That is how much is at stake here: we have no choice but to rise to the challenge.

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Hesitant Cameron Increasing Involved In Iraq

By Darren McCaffrey, Sky News Reporter

"Bombs and missiles are bad ambassadors. They win no hearts and minds; they can build no democracies. There are more tools of statecraft than military power."

David Cameron, as leader of the opposition in 2006, flash forward to today and the Prime Minister's language seems more strident, the warnings more stark.

"If we do not act to stem the onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britain.

"We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a poisonous and extremist ideology."

This as the Bishop of Leeds has accused the government of not having  a "coherent or comprehensive approach to Islamist extremism as it is developing across the globe".

But is this a fair assessment?

The PM meets visits a UK aid Disaster Response Centre at Kemble Airport

It is certainly true, like President Obama, scarred by interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the plan was to withdraw British troops from conflicts and not get involved in more.

After all, defence spending has been cut and the army is on course to be smaller than at any time since the First World War.

All this changed with Benghazi, Libya in 2011 when Britain with France lead airstrikes to stop a massacre and ultimately bring down Colonel Gaddafi.

Two years later and it was Syria; the Prime Minister thought Assad had to go and that meant helping the rebels, a deliberate interventionist strategy, which won round President Obama, only to fall apart in Parliament when it was opposed by Ed Miliband.

Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria - different conflicts with different ends but all interventions the Prime Minister has supported or called for.

An RAF Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft used over Iraq

So why not Iraq this time, given the humanitarian need and the 'poisonous' threat of the Islamic State?

Well, firstly we are involved, not with airstrikes but, increasingly, British military capability is helping to deliver aid or helping with surveillance.

Undoubtedly scarred by the Syria vote last year, and concerns about public opinion, the Prime Minister is more hesitant about joining the Americans in dropping bombs.

But with public opinion so far accepting of intervention, Britain has inch-by-inch, day-by-day been getting more militarily involved.

Given the threat by Islamic State, that is only likely to continue.

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