British Holidaymaker Feared Drowned In Egypt

A British man is feared to have drowned after he failed to surface while scuba diving at a holiday resort in Egypt.

Steve Cracknell was having a routine lesson with his instructor off the coast of Sharm el-Sheikh when the pair went missing.

Mr Cracknell, 46, from Yeovil, Somerset, is thought to have been on holiday with his wife and their two daughters at the time.

He vanished while swimming at the White Knight dive site, a relatively shallow canyon.

Locals have reportedly been searching every day for the pharmaceuticals executive and his instructor, who were diving with a company located at the Savoy Hotel last Saturday.

A friend of Mr Cracknell, who asked not to be named, told The Daily Telegraph: "I am just holding out hope and don't want to think about the accident.

"I can't imagine how his wife and daughters are handling this. My heart goes out to them.

"We are hoping for a good resolution, but we know that the longer they are missing the less likely it is that the result will be good."

Shinji Sato, a Japanese dive instructor living in Sharm el-Sheikh, told the paper: "They've still not found the bodies. This kind of thing is incredibly rare. It never happens.

"Everyone here is very upset. It's so sad."

Mr Cracknell's instructor is understood to be Costantino Di Maria, a veteran diver who has lived in Sharm el-Sheikh for years.

Reports say the plateau which Mr Cracknell was exploring suddenly sheers off into a plummeting mile-deep precipice.

Locals have speculated that one of the two men may have encountered problems during the diving session.

Mr Cracknell's family are thought to have returned to the UK.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a British national is currently missing in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

"We are liaising with the local authorities and we are providing consular assistance to the family."

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End-Of-Life Care: Plan For New Legal Rights

Families will have to be consulted before patients are put on a so-called "pathway to death", it has emerged.

Under reforms being put out for consultation on Monday, hospitals could also be sued and doctors struck off if they do not involve relatives in the decision to start end-of-life treatment.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will make the announcement as part of a raft of changes to the NHS constitution.

The move follows the emergence of cases where patients were placed on the Liverpool Care Pathway - which involves withdrawal of fluids and food - without relatives' knowledge.

Mr Hunt told the Daily Mail: "I want our country to be the best in Europe to grow old.

"End-of-life care decisions affect older, and more vulnerable, people. These patients and their families have a basic right to be involved in discussions and decisions affecting their end-of-life care.

"This new consultation will help to raise awareness of these rights and ensure that there are tough consequences in any cases where standards fall short.

"The NHS is one of this country's greatest achievements. At the same time as we are protecting its budget, we are building an NHS able to meet patients' needs and expectations now and in the future."

A Department of Health source added: "New changes to the NHS Constitution, to be unveiled on Monday, will set out a new legal right for patients to be consulted on end-of-life care decisions. The right will also include family and carers.

"NHS bodies, as well as private and voluntary providers supplying NHS services, are required by law to take account of it in their decisions and actions.

"End-of-life care, like the Liverpool Care Pathway, can give patients dignity and respect in their last days, but recent reports have suggested that there is more the NHS can do to ensure that patients, their family and carers are fully involved in all discussions and decisions."

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Washout Summer May Raise Winter Flood Risks

This summer's unusually wet weather means there is a higher risk of flooding in autumn and winter, the Environment Agency and Met Office has warned.

The wettest April to June on record, and further wet weather in July, September and October, has left river levels full, the ground saturated and exceptionally high ground waters in some areas, the agencies say.

The emergency services and householders are being advised to be prepared for flooding, which, because of the wet conditions, could hit with relatively small amounts of rain.

"This year our flood defences have protected over 119,000 properties, but we cannot prevent flooding entirely," said the Environment Agency's Paul Mustow.

"With one in six homes at risk of flooding, the most important step people can take in protecting themselves from the worst impacts is to find out if they are at risk, and sign up to the Environment Agency's free flood warnings service.

"As winter approaches we'd encourage everyone to take this one step to help protect themselves from what is recognised as the country's number one natural hazard."

Sarah Jackson, the Met Office's chief adviser to the Government, said: "We are heading into the winter period which is traditionally the wetter period of the year in the UK.

"Because the ground is so wet, if we do have any prolonged heavy rainfall in any part of the country, there is going to be heightened risk of flooding.

"We recommend that everyone keeps up-to-date with the latest forecasts and warnings in periods of wet weather to be prepared."

More than 1.1 million people are signed up to receive Environment Agency flood warnings - which can be sent by email, text, or a message to a landline or mobile phone.

This summer over 100,000 households were warned of potential flooding, giving people essential time to protect their homes and possessions. 

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Outrage At Killing Of Prison Officer In NI

The wife of a prison officer killed in a motorway ambush in Northern Ireland has called for no retaliation over his murder.

David Black - who had spent more than 30 years in the prison service and was approaching retirement - was gunned down in an attack believed to have been carried out by dissident republicans in Northern Ireland.

The father-of-two's wife Yvonne has appealed for no retaliation for the killing, which has been condemned by politicians on all sides.

She said in a statement: "Grief and sadness in another home will achieve nothing."

Mr Black, 52, was shot on Northern Ireland's M1 motorway early in the morning as he drove to the top security Maghaberry jail near Lisburn, County Antrim.

The attack happened at the M1/M12 turnoff in County Armagh

Police said the gunman was in a Toyota Camry with a Dublin registration which drew alongside Mr Black's black Audi.

Shots were apparently fired at Mr Black from the vehicle, causing his car to veer off the road and into a drainage ditch.

He sustained "very serious and probably fatal gunshot wounds," police said.

At the time bomb disposal experts were attending a security alert further along the motorway, which police believe may have been set up as a decoy.

Police attending the scene

No organisation has admitted responsibility, but security chiefs believe republicans opposed to the peace process were involved.

The extremists have been involved in long-running protests against jail conditions inside Maghaberry.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the shooting would not derail the peace process in Northern Ireland.

He said: "This is a dreadful tragedy for the family and friends of David Black who has been so brutally murdered as he went about his work keeping the people of Northern Ireland safe.

"These killers will not succeed in denying the people of Northern Ireland the peaceful, shared future they so desperately want."

The motorway was closed following the shooting

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Matt Baggott said: "It was a completely senseless attack. It demonstrated the recklessness and ruthlessness and sheer dangerousness of those who oppose peace and are dedicated to taking us back to those dark days of the past.

"This has all the hallmarks of dissident republicans. This was just a brutal attack and we need the public's support to be able to solve it as quickly as possible."

It is 18 months since renegade republicans claimed the life of police officer Ronan Kerr in Omagh, County Tyrone.

Mr Black had expressed interest in early retirement but no date had been set, Prison Service director general Sue McAllister said.

"We will not allow this to derail the efforts that we are making to reform the service but we will do everything we can to support all of our staff in the very difficult days ahead," she added.

Theresa Villiers said the murder was "cowardly and evil"

A car used in the attack was later found burnt-out in Lurgan, Co Armagh, where supporters of dissidents have backed the jail protest campaign.

Mr Black, from Cookstown, Co Tyrone, was the 30th prison officer killed in Northern Ireland since 1974.

It is understood his service stretched back as far as the 1981 IRA hunger strike inside the Maze prison, when 10 republicans starved themselves to death.

Finlay Spratt, the head of the Prison Officers' Association, who knew Mr Black and described him as "a very nice fellow to work with", criticised the security provisions offered to prison officers since the Troubles ended.

"They have stripped away all the security around prison officers," he said.

Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness both condemned the murder.

"At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family and we condemn this murder in the strongest possible terms," they said in a joint statement.

The shooting happened at around 7.30am, at the same time as a major security alert further along the motorway at a shopping centre at Sprucefield, near Lisburn, where bomb disposal experts were called in to check a car.

It is believed this vehicle might have been linked to the shooting,

Only a day ago, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers warned that the threat from dissident republicans in Northern Ireland remained severe. She described the latest attack as "cowardly and evil".

The Republic of Ireland's foreign minister Eamon Gilmore also expressed his condolences.

"I know that I speak for every decent man, woman and child on this island, North and South, in expressing revulsion at this act," he said.

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Savile 'Molested' Teen During Top Of The Pops

By Katie Stallard, Media & Technology Correspondent

A Top of the Pops audience member has told Sky News she was molested on camera by Jimmy Savile and then laughed at by a member of the crew when she tried to complain.

Sylvia Edwards, who was 18 at the time, says she was told to get lost by a man on the studio floor who said: "That's just Jimmy Savile."

Footage from the programme in 1976 shows the teenager clearly shrieking and jumping up from her seat as she struggles to get away from Savile, who says to a camera: "A fella could get used to all this."

Mrs Edwards told Sky News: "All of a sudden I felt this hand go underneath and I jumped up, I went to go back down again, but I couldn't go anywhere, his hand was still there.

"I was trying to push it away, but he wouldn't move it - I just screeched - I started feeling embarrassed because where could you go?

"I was just getting really flustered and he didn't move, and I just remember trying to get out, but there were too many girls around me."

As soon as it was over she said she tried to tell the nearest member of staff what had happened.

She said: "I just found this man that had some sort of headset on, I don't know what he was doing, next to a camera, and I said: 'He's really filthy, he's putting his hand up my skirt and that', and he said: 'Oh no, don't be so stupid', he said, 'that's just Jimmy Savile, go on get out of the way, out of the way, you're blocking a camera shot or something.'

"I had to move because this camera was coming around and I thought fine, ok, what do you say - once they've told you to get lost, I didn't think that maybe I could go to the police, I just felt embarrassed."

She said she was picked out of the crowd to sit next to Savile and quickly found herself hemmed in by other girls.

"All I could think of was to get his hand away, and my hand was pushing it, but he just seemed to go rigid and keep his hand there, and actually if you watch the tape you can see him moving where I'm trying to push it away and he was having none of it, his hand was going to stay there, and that was it."

"I was trapped, I felt as if I was just stuck and everyone was closing in around me, because obviously they all wanted to get in the camera shot and I could feel them all around me, we had to just wait until they said we could move."

Mrs Edwards' case raises more questions for the BBC. She is convinced that some within the corporation must have known what was going on.

"I know that they knew about it because I told them years and years ago and they just brushed it under the carpet.

"That is what annoyed me and prompted me to come forward to say they did know. I don't know how anybody could say they didn't know it was going on."

A spokesperson for the BBC said: "The BBC cannot comment on individual cases. It has asked that anyone with allegations of this nature should report them to the BBC's Investigation Unit or the police directly."

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Savile Estate Frozen Amid Sex Abuse Claims

The estate of Jimmy Savile has been frozen in response to the mounting sexual abuse claims against the late television and radio star.

NatWest Bank, which is acting as the Jim'll Fix It presenter's will executor and trustee, said the distribution of his assets had been put on hold because of the allegations.

Savile's estate is reportedly worth £4.3m.

NatWest said in a statement: "Given the claims raised, distribution of the estate has been put on hold."

Savile's will was written in 2006 and bequeaths his savings and other assets to 26 separate beneficiaries, according to the Financial Times.

The newspaper said it had obtained a copy of the document which instructs that £20,000 in cash was to be shared between 20 of the celebrity's friends, family and neighbours.

It says a further £600,000 was to be put into a trust fund, with the interest shared between eight people.

The remainder - just under £3.7 million before expenses - was to be held by NatWest on behalf of The Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust, according to the FT.

Savile's intended individual beneficiaries include the trustees of both his charities and existing and former employees of Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor Hospital, the newspaper added.

Police are investigating claims that the star, who died in October last year, sexually assaulted individuals at both NHS sites.

Savile's estate was previously put on hold in July after a woman claimed to be his illegitimate daughter, the FT said.

It is believed the latest freeze may be in anticipation of legal claims for damages by Savile's alleged victims.

Scotland Yard is leading a national investigation into the television and radio star's activities. He is now believed to have been one of the UK's most prolific abusers, with about 300 possible victims.

Detectives are following 400 lines of inquiry as part of the investigation while the BBC has launched an inquiry into the culture and practices at the corporation in the era of Savile's alleged sexual abuse.

It is also looking at the decision-making process that saw a Newsnight investigation into Savile's activities shelved.

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Sniffer Dog Finds Stowaways In Coffin Truck

Three Africans have been caught trying to enter Britain illegally in a truck loaded with coffins.

The trio, who are Eritrean nationals, hid among dozens of boxed coffins which were loaded in a van from Bulgaria.

But the human cargo was unearthed by sniffer dog Mitzy.

The discovery was made on Monday when Border Force officers searched the lorry at the port of Dunkirk in northern France.

The truck, which was waiting to board a ferry to the UK, was carrying coffins bound for a funeral director in Hounslow, west London.

The stowaways were handed over to French border police and the vehicle was allowed to continue on its journey.

Paul Morgan, Border Force director for South East and Europe, said: "This was an unusual type of discovery, but in the past we have found people hiding in an array of freight, ranging from dog biscuits, bathtubs and now coffins.

"The incident shows exactly why we base Border Force staff in France - to stop would-be illegal immigrants before they can reach the UK.

"As well as using sniffer dogs, officers also use heartbeat detectors, carbon dioxide probes and physical searches to find people hiding in vehicles."

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Barclays Reports Loss After PPI Charges

Barclays reports a pre-tax statutory loss of £47m for the third quarter - compared with a £2.4bn profit over the same period last year.

The loss is primarily due to increasing costs relating to the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI).

The bank, which was also rocked by the Libor rate-rigging scandal, unveiled two new US regulatory investigations into its conduct.

Barclays said the US Department of Justice and US Securities and Exchange Commission were investigating whether its relationships with third parties who help it win or retain business are compliant with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

It is also being investigated for past power trading in the West of the US.

The bank had previously said it would set aside a further £700m to cover its costs after customer complaints over PPI continue, taking its total estimated bill to £2bn.

More follows...

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Breast Cancer: Thousands Are Over-Diagnosed

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Almost 4,000 women a year are having treatment for breast cancer they don't need, according to new research.

An independent panel of doctors called in to assess the UK's breast screening programmes found some women are diagnosed with tumours that would never cause them any problems in their natural life span.

But the doctors say screening also prevents more than 1,300 deaths a year, underlining the benefits of regular mammograms.

Cancer Research UK, which took part in the review, strongly recommended women turn up for screening.

The charity's chief executive Dr Harpal Kumar said: "Screening remains one of the best ways to spot the very early signs of breast cancer, at a stage when treatment is most likely to be successful."

The review was ordered after European researchers had warned that screening may do more harm than good.

The independent panel trawled through 11 studies involving thousands of women, in the hope of settling the controversy.

According to results published in The Lancet medical journal, for every cancer death prevented, three women will be over-diagnosed.

They may have surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy as a result.

National cancer director Professor Sir Mike Richards said leaflets explaining breast screening will be rewritten within four months to reflect the new information.

"We have always said that there are some cancers that can be found that would not have caused problems in a woman's lifetime,"  he said.

"What we can now do is put a number on that, to give an estimate.

"Women can make their individual choices based on good information."

But Dr Deborah Cunningham, clinical director of breast services at Charing Cross Hospital in London, warned that some women could be deterred from screening.

She told Sky News: "They already have difficult choices to make. This complicates it further. Screening won't work if they don't turn up."

Beverley Angell was diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine screening appointment earlier this summer. She has no doubt that the programme is worthwhile.

"I could not feel the lump and I did not know it was there. It has saved my life."

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UBS Cuts Thousands Of UK Jobs Amid Restructuring

UBS has confirmed it is cutting 10,000 jobs as it looks to drastically shrink its ailing investment bank which has a large presence in London.

Switzerland's biggest bank announced the plans as part of its third-quarter results which revealed a loss of 2.2 billion Swiss francs (£1.43bn) compared to a profit of 1.02 billion (£0.67bn) in the same period last year.

It said the result for the July-September period was damaged by a one-off charge of 3.1 billion Swiss francs (£2bn) linked to the restructuring of its investment banking division and a debt-related charge of 863 million (£574m).

Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said the investment unit, which has been hit by a series of costly blunders in recent years, would "continue to be a significant global player in its core businesses" but there would be "a significant acceleration" in its transformation.

Of the total job cuts, 2,500 positions would be lost in Switzerland while the rest would be felt in the UK and US.

A spokesperson for the bank's operation in London told Sky News there was currently no confirmed figure for UK losses but said it would be fair to assume it would be in the thousands.

More follows...

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New Road Tax Plan For Motorways And A-Roads

Drivers who use motorways could be charged a higher rate of road tax than those who stick to slower routes.

According to reports, motorists face a two-tier road tax under proposals being considered by the Government.

It has been suggested that drivers could be offered a lower rate of the tax if they agree not to use the country's trunk road network of motorways and major A-roads.

Those paying a higher rate of vehicle excise duty would be free to use any roads.

Proponents say a network of automatic number-plate recognition cameras could be used to catch any drivers who were using the motorways without paying the higher rate.

A Department For Transport (DFT)  said: "The department and Treasury are currently carrying out a feasibility study to review new ownership and financing models for the strategic road network.

"This is looking at how best we can secure investment in the network to increase capacity and boost economic growth."

Activists have long sought to explore revenue generation options for road users.

Concepts have included expanding toll booths across the motorway network and a system based on mileage.

The DFT spokesman added: "The Government has made clear it will not implement tolls on existing road capacity and has no plans to replace existing motoring taxes with pay-as-you-go road charging."

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£350m Boost For British Nuclear Submarines

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will today announce an additional £350m to design the future generation of British nuclear-armed submarines.

This investment will sustain 1,200 UK jobs and follows the initial £350m of design work announced earlier this year, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

Mr Hammond will make the announcement on a visit to the home of the UK's nuclear deterrent at Faslane on the River Clyde in Scotland.

Commenting on the Scottish independence debate, the Defence Secretary will reiterate the Government's commitment to keep the naval base in Scotland.

He will say: "We are confident that the Scottish people will choose to remain part of the United Kingdom.

"The Faslane complex is the largest employment site in Scotland with over 6,500 jobs underpinning the local economy.

"We have no plans to move the nuclear deterrent from the Clyde.

"On the contrary, we intend to move the Astute and Trafalgar Class attack submarines to Faslane, creating a further 1,500 jobs.

"The Scottish Government needs to explain how their policy would benefit Scotland's economy and safeguard Scottish jobs."

The announcement followed the successful firing of an unarmed Trident ballistic missile by HMS Vigilant during a test launch in the Atlantic Ocean last week.

HMS Vigilant is one of four Vanguard Class submarines which maintain the UK's nuclear deterrent.

The Vanguard submarines will be replaced from 2028 by the Successor which is currently being designed by British companies.

As a result of today's announcement, BAE Systems will proceed with an additional £315m worth of work.

A further £38m will be carried out by engineering support services company Babcock.

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'Professional' Burglaries On The Rise

By Liz Lane, Sky News Reporter

Burglars are taking an "increasingly professional attitude" towards their crime, according to research.

More than 100 recently reformed burglars were questioned for home security firm ADT.

Almost three-quarters (72%) said they planned a break-in by researching a property beforehand, with many observing from gardens and bushes nearby.

Bob Turney, who gave up stealing from houses three decades ago, said they often work in teams.

"They will pick on an area and they will then three-handed go through a house like a swarm of locusts, and they'll all know what their own little job is, and they know where people hide things, so they just go for the obvious places and they can be in and out in five minutes and gone," he said.

He added that householders who have not secured their property properly are considered "fair game". Particular green lights are valuables in clear view, partially open windows, unlocked sheds and a lack of outside lighting.

Sensored lights are key to deterring burglars, says the report

Mark Shaw, residential director for ADT, said: "There's an element that there's no human victim here - it's just taking property that can just be claimed back on insurance.

"But the reality is there are victims and the feeling of violation that they're left with lasts a lot longer than any insurance claim."

Nubur Gupta's home in Middlesex was broken into last month. The thieves took around £20,000 worth of jewellery, electronics and clothes.

"It's a really big hassle, it's a feeling of unsafety, plus it's all the stress you have to go through, plus the emotional loss.

"So it's hurting, especially now with the baby, I feel unsafe for the baby because he's at home with the child minder so I think they could have come while he's here, they could have hurt him, they could have hurt me."

The survey found burglars are well aware of traditional hiding places many people use - including biscuit tins, cereal packets, fridges, freezers, washing machines, ovens, behind wardrobes, under mattresses, in pillow cases and at the back of sock drawers.

However, key deterrents include gravel driveways, dogs, new-looking doors and locks, sensor lights and CCTV cameras. Some 94% of ex-burglars say a monitored alarm would put them off.

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Beer Tax Debate Heads To Parliament

By Emma Birchley, Sky News Reporter

Campaigners calling for an end to a policy which pushes beer prices up faster than the rate of inflation have won the right to a debate in Parliament.

The beer duty escalator was introduced by the last government in 2008. It means the cost of a pint rises by an additional 2% every year.

Stephen Pugh is the financial director of the brewer Adnams in Southwold, Suffolk. He believes the policy is misguided.

"The duty will be 50p or so on the pint and the VAT will be a similar amount, so you are talking about adding £1 of tax for the government on that.

"I think that's an expensive and damaging level of costs to the consumer."

Many pubs have been unable to survive in the recent economic climate. Six thousand have closed in the past four years.

It is causing so much concern that more than 100,000 people have signed an online petition urging the government to scrap the escalator. The petition has been organised by the beer campaign group CAMRA.

Beer duty has increased by 42% since 2008

The issue will now be debated in Parliament on Thursday.

David Sanchez runs the Lord Nelson pub in the Suffolk seaside town.

To get a realistic profit after paying all the tax he says he should sell his bitter for £4 a pint. But he believes that price is too high and so it sells for £3.40.

"You can't really price the beer where it needs to be to maintain the current profitability so we have to keep the beer prices down to encourage customers to keep coming in.

"They still whinge at the price... It's all part of the banter these days."

Beer duty has increased by 42% since the escalator was introduced in 2008 while sales have fallen by 15% in that period.

And the rate of decline is rising. Between July and September there was a 5.6% fall in the volume of beer sold in pubs and shops compared to the same quarter last year, although it is thought the bad weather this summer may have had an impact on sales.

A spokesman for the Treasury said a range of tax measures had been introduced to help the alcohol industry, and pubs in particular.

"However at a time when we are working hard to get down the deficit, alcohol duty revenues do make an important contribution to the public finances.

"Crucially, the Government has not made any changes beyond what was announced at the budget in 2008."

But in the past three months 117 million fewer pints have been sold.

And, according to the industry, that means that tax revenue from beer is actually being hit because people cannot afford to buy it.

The British Beer and Pub Association wants duty to be frozen in the next budget.

Research carried out for the organisation suggests it would save 5000 jobs in the industry.

But the fear is, if prices keep being driven higher, more pubs will be forced to call time for good.

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