Help To Buy: Doubts Over Success Of Scheme

By Poppy Trowbridge, Business and Economics Correspondent

The second phase of the government mortgage guarantee scheme Help to Buy is due to launch next week, three months earlier than expected - but experts are sceptical the initiative will help buyers.

Lack of capacity in the housing market and claims by banks which say they are not ready because they haven't received essential information from the Government threaten to leave many would-be buyers empty-handed.

Exclusive research by Sky News shows interest from potential buyers has skyrocketed since the Government surprised the market.

Property website Rightmove says clicks on its Help to Buy pages numbered 14,807 on Saturday, the day before last Sunday's surprise announcement.

When David Cameron revealed, on the eve of the Conservative Party conference, that the launch date had been brought forward from January - clicks, measuring potential buyer interest, spiked to 59,571.

Now, almost a week later, they remain far above average at 23,660.

But there is concern that pent-up demand cannot be met by existing market services.

Sky News has learned that the two taxpayer backed banks, Lloyds Banking Group and RBS, are not able to guarantee a launch date. Sky News understands both are waiting for further details from the Government.

Barclays has issued a statement saying it, too, is undecided.

"Whilst we cannot take a decision over participation in the new scheme before the terms are set, we are encouraged by the tone of the discussions so far," the bank said.

Estate agents are also worried that capacity to deal with a surge in interest is lacking.

Robert Ellice, of Clarke Hillyer, told Sky News: "At the moment we've got big delays in the whole process anyway, mortgages are still taking a long time to be offered and taking a long time to be verified on values."

Does that mean hopeful homebuyers will have to wait for Westminster to work out the finer details before others can catch up?

Mortgage manager Ray Boulger said: "The first details of mortgage rates under this scheme we are expecting on Tuesday from Halifax, but they are likely to be the only lender offering these mortgages for probably some weeks.

"From a buyer's perspective the good news is there will be 95% mortgages available from the biggest lender in the country, the bad news is there will be no competition."

He added: "But it is a start, you have got to start somewhere."

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Ondine's Curse: Girl With Ventilator Can Go Home

By Stephen Douglas, Sky News Reporter

A toddler is preparing to go home for the first time in her life after spending almost three years at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Maisie Harris suffers from a rare condition called Ondine's Curse, which means her brain does not tell her body to breathe, so she needs a ventilator to do it for her.

Now, thanks to a smaller, more portable ventilator, Maisie will be able to leave hospital and head home to Gillingham in Kent.

The new ventilator is intelligent enough to know when she is able to take her own breaths and when she is likely to have an episode and require ventilation.

Her mother Rachel Bridger told Sky News: "It's exciting, I'm nervous. It's all new going home. It'll be good to just be a normal family. You don't feel normal being in hospital so long.

"The last three years have been up and down, good and bad. You give up sometimes. I thought it might be the end of the road but she pulled through which is great news. I'm looking forward to taking her to the park and to her nan's.

"The new ventilator is the best thing she's ever had."

Maisie will leave hospital soon

Maisie, who turns three on October 23, has been at London's Great Ormond Street so long that staff held a going-home party. Maisie will leave the hospital with her family on Monday.

Ward manager Kate Harkus said: "It means a lot to the staff that she's going home. We feel very proud. We've nursed her through rocky times.

"There are very few machines in the world that will be able to support her at home. Technology is advancing so much that more companies are coming out with these ventilators that you can manage at home."

Maisie's parents have mostly been living in hospital accommodation ever since she was transferred to Great Ormond Street from Medway Maritime Hospital when she was three months old.

Her father Andrew Harris told Sky News: "It's been difficult. She was in intensive care going backwards and forwards. Now she's ready to go home it's all been worth it.

"I'm looking forward to seeing her go to school and growing up. We didn't think she'd get to this stage."

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Madeleine McCann: Police Probe Phone Records

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

Scotland Yard detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007 are analysing the mobile phone details of everyone who was in the Portuguese holiday resort from where she disappeared.

They are set to reveal new information about the hunt for the missing girl in a televised appeal in 10 days.

There are around three dozen British police officers working on what has been designated Operation Grange, but the officers leading the investigation say there has been increasing cooperation with the authorities in Portugal. 

Six Portuguese police officers based in Faro have been appointed to liaise with officers in London. 

The Metropolitan Police stress that they are "professional and committed" and were not involved in the original investigation, which remains closed.    

Assistant Commissioners Mark Rowley and Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood are also sending formal International Letters Of Request to 30 other countries asking for assistance with their inquiry, reflecting the range of nationalities likely to have been in the town on May 3, 2007. 

Detectives want to cross reference mobile phone data with other lines of inquiry, especially with individuals they have previously identified as "persons of interest". 

Madeleine was three-years-old when she vanished from her parents' rented apartment in the Algarve seaside town of Praia Da Luz. 

The Portuguese authorities closed their investigation after initially investigating her parents Kate and Gerry as possible suspects. 

The Home Office agreed to order a review of the case by the Metropolitan Police and in July it became a full blown investigation.

Officers have been looking into the backgrounds of 41 individuals, 15 of whom are UK nationals. 

Assistant Commissioner Rowley said three of these British citizens are on the verge of being eliminated from the inquiry.

It is a huge undertaking requiring extensive international cooperation. 

The phone data has always been available, and some of it has been examined before, but the trawl through thousands of phone numbers is the most thorough yet undertaken. 

DCI Redwood said the phone records could be the key to solving the mystery and he that it is not a "general trawl" for information but a "targeted attack" on possible key numbers.

"We've got a data set of phone traffic. Within that phone traffic you can see we've got some of those numbers we can attribute to people, but a large number of them we can't. So in a targeted way, we're trying to say in a particular moment in time, that is around the moment of opportunity, who's there."

"What we're trying to do is to use every route available to us to identify as many of them as possible and the phone data is one route into that, as are appeals. If you were in Praia da Luz at the time, you may get a routine phone call from the police."

The Metropolitan Police team say they have collated 39,148 documents from previous inquiries by both the Portuguese authorities, and eight different teams of private detectives hired by the McCanns.

So far 21,614 have been processed. Some 4,920 of those have necessitated follow up action and 2,123 lines of inquiry have been completed.

The new lines of inquiry will be publicised in a BBC Crimewatch programme on Monday, October 14. 

The police will not confirm if new photo-fits or artist impressions of possible suspects will be issued, but there will be a reconstruction of events in Praia Da Luz, and Madeleine's parents will be interviewed during the programme. 

Mr Rowley said: "It's important to stress, the Crimewatch appeal is not simply 'this is a live investigation has anyone got any information?' It is more than that. There is new information not previously presented. Fresh, substantive material upon which to make an appeal."

The McCanns will be accompanied by DCI Redwood, making it the first time the couple have made an appeal for information alongside an investigating officer. 

Every other public appeal they have made during the past six years has been on their own initiative. 

Press conferences in the days immediately after their daughter's disappearance were not organised by friends and advisers rather than the Portuguese Judicial Police. 

It will be a symbolic moment in the long inquiry , with Kate and Gerry McCann, once labelled "aguidos" in Portugal, and investigated as possible suspects, now officially supported by detectives investigating the case.

DCI Redwood said: "I have no reason to be anything other than confident in the McCanns. They have been thoroughly supportive of our inquiry and our relationship is very strong."

There will be similar appeals on TV programmes in Germany and the Netherlands, reflecting the high number of tourists from those countries who were in Praia Da Luz when Madeleine went missing.

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Child Rapists And Terrorists Face More Jail Time

Child rapists and terrorists will no longer be automatically released half way through their prison sentence.

Criminals who receive an Extended Determinate Sentence (EDS) - sentences where the offender receives a custodial sentence plus a further extended period of licence - will no longer be released automatically two-thirds of the way into their custodial sentence.

Under the proposals unveiled by the Justice Secretary, these criminals will only be released before the end of their custodial term under strict conditions at the discretion of the independent Parole Board.

Primary legislation, which will be brought forward in the new year, is required for the new changes, which are expected to affect around 600 criminals a year.

Chris Grayling said: "It's outrageous that offenders who commit some truly horrific crimes in this country are automatically released from prison halfway through their custodial sentence, regardless of their behaviour, attitude and engagement in their own rehabilitation.

"We need to teach criminals a lesson; you will be punished for your crime and you must earn your release, it is not an automatic right."

Before the Parole Board releases any criminal they must be convinced they no longer pose a threat to society and that they have engaged with, and continue to engage with, their own rehabilitation.

Unless they address their offending behaviour criminals can expect to serve their entire custodial term in prison.

Changes to automatic half-way release will apply to criminals who receive a determinate sentence for selected offences against children under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, including rape of a child.

They will also apply to a range of terrorism offences including possession of an article for terrorist purposes, inciting terrorism overseas and preparation of terrorist acts.

Last week, Mr Grayling said he was scrapping simple cautions, which do not involve any form of punishment, for serious crimes such as rape, manslaughter and robbery.

Police will no longer use them for sexual offences against children such as child prostitution or pornography, possession of an offensive weapon or supplying class-A drugs, he said.

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'Significant' New Clues In Melanie Hall Murder

Police investigating the murder of Melanie Hall say they have received "significant" new clues that could catch her killer.

Ms Hall, 25, went missing 17 years ago and her body was found dumped by the side of the M5 near Bristol in 2009.

On the fourth anniversary of the discovery of her body, police say they have uncovered "significant and very interesting" information.

Detective Superintendent Mike Courtiour, leading the murder inquiry, said: "Over the past four years we have received information, intelligence and names that we have taken seriously, researched and thoroughly investigated.

Car keys found in 2009 could prove significant to police

"We have recently received information concerning the origin of the blue rope that was used to tie up Melanie's body. It is significant information and we are actively working on that line of inquiry.

"We are working with forensic scientists in relation to the rope and the circumstances of where that particular length of rope came from."

"Also, we have recently found and recovered a car that may be relevant to events in 1996 when Melanie disappeared.

"It is a white, A-registered, mark 1 Volkswagen Golf GTi cabriolet which is currently being examined by forensic scientists. At this stage we do not know if it is connected with the case, but it is a very interesting and possibly significant line of inquiry."

Ms Halls father (R) welcomed the 'positive news'

Miss Hall's father Steve said: "This is very positive news. Gradually the pieces of the jigsaw are being put together to bring Melanie's killer or killers to justice.

"We always knew it would take a long time, but these new developments appear very encouraging. It's time for whoever has information about Melanie's murder to come forward and bring this to an end - because it will come to an end eventually.

"The police won't give up until they get a result."

The investigation team has worked tirelessly on the case since Ms Hall went missing. Some 250 statements have been taken and 1,200 pieces of the investigation carried out.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the murder incident room at Avon and Somerset police or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

More follows...

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Payday Lenders Facing Unlimited Fines

Tougher controls on payday lenders could see unlimited fines for companies which break the rules.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which will take over regulation of consumer credit from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in April 2014, said the sanctions were among a host of proposed new rules that would go out to consultation.

The organisation, which will cover tens of thousands of firms offering services such as overdrafts, credit cards and debt advice, was formed six months ago with the promise of strengthening protection for consumers.

Among its other recommendations: Limiting to two the number of times a payday loan can be rolled-over, banning misleading adverts and compulsory affordability checks for all loan applicants.

Payday loan firms have come under intense scrutiny in recent months after a damning report by the OFT found "deep-rooted" problems.

The Competition Commission is carrying out a full-scale investigation of the industry and will reveal its findings next year.

The OFT, which referred the £2bn industry to the commission, is worried firms are emphasising the speed of the loan over cost and are "skimping" on affordability checks.

There have also been complaints of payday firms unexpectedly draining people's bank accounts through a type of recurring payment called a continuous payment authority.

Payday firms would be limited to doing this twice per customer under the proposals.

The FCA's chief executive Martin Wheatley said: "Today I'm putting payday lenders on notice: tougher regulation is coming and I expect them all to make changes so that consumers get a fair outcome.

"The clock is ticking," he added.

Payday lenders have said they have been working to improve standards and ensure loans are given only to those who can afford them.

Russell Hamblin-Boone, chief executive of the Consumer Finance Association (CFA), which represents many short-term lenders, said: "The CFA and its members have always supported well-designed, well-implemented regulation in order to protect consumers and drive up standards.

"Our tough code of practice and independent monitoring, which is unique in the industry, has paved the way for FCA regulation, so we look forward to seeing the detail of the draft rulebook."

The FCA has asked for feedback from consumers as well as lenders before implementing its rules next year.

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PTSD Fears Over Plan For More Army Reservists

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

Ministers' plans to replace tens of thousands of full-time soldiers with reservists risks creating a new wave of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, campaigners have warned.

In an interview with Sky News, Andrew Cameron, chief executive of Combat Stress, said members of the Territorial Army (TA) who serve on the front line are at far greater risk of developing the condition than ordinary troops.

Last year, as part of cost-cutting measures, the Government announced plans to double the size of the TA from 15,000 soldiers to 30,000, while reducing the number of regular servicemen by 20,000.

But reservists returning home from conflicts do not have the same level of support afforded to full-time soldiers, Mr Cameron warned.

"The preponderance of post-traumatic stress disorder amongst veterans who are reservists is 50% higher than it is for regular servicemen," he said.

"The reason for that is they don't get the level of support from their regiment, their ship or their squadron that they might have done if they were a regular.

"If we double or treble the number and if we continue with high-intensity warfare then I think society has got a big challenge because we will see a lot more reservists who need help."

Combat Stress said that since 2009, it had seen a large rise in the number of veterans seeking help after returning from Afghanistan.

Combat Stress CEO Andrew Cameron says reservists do not have the support

In 2008/9, the charity was approached by 56 veterans of Afghanistan. This had risen to 271 in the last year, a fivefold increase.

Mr Cameron, whose intervention comes just days after Defence Secretary Philip Hammond was heckled at the Conservative Party conference by veterans over cuts, said he expected veterans to need help for another decade.

He said: "I'm planning for services at or above the level we are providing for at least the next five years and I don't expect to see a tail-off in very much less than 10."

Soldiers' families, friends, colleagues and employers need to be more aware of what they have gone through, he added.

Jake Wood, 40, an investment bank analyst, was a Lance Sergeant in the TA in Afghanistan from April to October 2007.

He told Sky News he suffers from what he calls "Survivor Guilt" and "Killer Guilt", leading to nightmares and sleepless nights, after discovering a member of the Taliban had died in a firefight he had been involved in.

He said: "I didn't feel anything at the time. I couldn't. I was immersed in the normality of Afghanistan.

"But it's when you come home and you're re-immersed in the different normality of home, the cosiness of home life, that you can remember things differently.

"And I just remember playing my part in killing an extremely terrified, dying man."

Mr Wood said he also struggled to recover from a Taliban attack in which his commanding officer was blown up. Returning to work was a very difficult experience.

"On a moral level it didn't fill me with glee going back to that environment," he said.

"As a soldier on the ground, you look after the guy next to you and he looks after you. It's a cliche but it's a cliche for a reason because it's what happens.

"It's a completely unselfish, black and white existence.

"Then when you're suddenly re-immersed in an investment bank after just a few weeks leave, there can be this profound sense of sudden isolation, and also alienation as well, where you're just completely and utterly alone.

"It's basically a hangover from the past, which in my experience does not go away. And now I'm not expecting it to either. This isn't defeatism.

"I've had years of intensive treatment and I've no doubt it has helped me, and the reason I know it has helped me is that I haven't killed myself."

A recent study of thousands of servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan by King's College London found 6% of reservists suffered from PTSD compared with 3% in a control group.

When studied again five years later, they were still found to have greater levels of PTSD and marital instability than regular soldiers.

The Ministry of Defence is set to release new figures detailing the number of servicemen suffering from mental health conditions on Thursday.

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 08457 90 90 90 or email jo@samaritans.org

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Cyberbullying: Survey Points To 'Growing Trend'

Almost seven in 10 young people have experienced cyberbullying on social media sites, new research suggests.

The national anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label surveyed 10,008 people aged between 13 and 22 and found levels of cyberbullying were much higher than previously reported.

It found that of the 69% of young people who had experienced cyberbullying, one fifth said it had been very extreme.

Facebook, Ask.fm and Twitter were found to be the most likely sources of cyberbullying, and 54% of those using Facebook reported cyberbullying on the network, the survey said.

That figure was around twice that of Twitter, which was used by 43% of young people surveyed.

Although 89% of MySpace users claimed they had been subjected to taunts, only just 4% of young people said they used the site.

Liam Hackett, founder of Ditch the Label, said the charity set up its annual survey after discovering more than 30,000 young people were visiting a virtual support centre on its Habbo Hotel website every week.

"We found that cyberbullying was a growing trend within the sphere of bullying and we were naturally inclined to investigate further," he said.

"We have identified that cyberbullying is not just a passing phase and is having a profound impact on the lives of millions across the country.

"Cyberbullying is seriously damaging the self-esteem and future prospects of young people and is an issue we cannot afford to overlook."

A Facebook spokesman said: "We don't tolerate bullying ... and that's why we provide the best tools and support in the industry for people to report bullying to us or to someone else who can help them."

The research comes two months after 14-year-old Hannah Smith, from Leicestershire, took her own life after she was bullied on Ask.fm.

The website announced a raft of changes to protect users following her death.

Earlier this year, Twitter agreed to install a report abuse button alongside every tweet after feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez was subjected to a barrage of online rape threats.

:: BeatBullying.org is available for advice and support.

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Teachers Stage One-Day Strike Over Pay Reform

Thousands of teachers are staging a one-day strike in a bitter dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions.

Tens of thousands of schoolchildren will be affected by the one-day walkout across four English region as schools are fully or partially closed.

The action has been organised by two of England's biggest teaching unions - the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the NASUWT.

Schools in 49 local authorities in the East of England, the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside are affected.

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: "Strike action is a last resort. Teachers have been left with no choice but to demonstrate their anger and frustration in the face of their genuine concerns being dismissed and trivialised."

The first regional walkout took place in the North West on June 27, with further strikes expected to take place on October 17 in the North East, South East, South West and London.

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said strike action was a last resort

Plans for a national one-day walkout before Christmas have also been announced by the two unions.

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: "No teacher takes strike action lightly but the intransigence of this Education Secretary has left teachers with no choice.

"We cannot stand by and watch our profession be systematically attacked and undermined. There needs to be a change in the Government's attitude to teachers and education."

The strike comes as Education Secretary Michael Gove is due to address the Tory party conference amid criticism of his reforms by leading academics and children's authors.

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman are among nearly 200 people to say they are "gravely concerned" and call for the changes to be stopped.

In a letter published in The Times, they called on the Government to set up a commission to examine alternatives instead of pressing on with reforms to the curriculum and exam system.

"Competition between children through incessant testing and labelling results is a public sense of failure for the vast majority," they said.

"The drive towards ever-higher attainment in national tests leads inevitably to teaching to the test, which narrows the range of learning experiences. Harmful stress is put on young people, their parents and their teachers.

"These damaging developments must stop. If they go ahead there will be devastating consequences for children's mental health, for future opportunities and, most importantly, for the quality of childhood itself."

They describe demands on teachers as being like a "straitjacket" that will "destroy the educational richness that should be children's birthright".

The unions say they are protesting against a two-year pay freeze for teachers, proposals to make teachers work until they are aged 68, increases in pensions contributions and heavy workloads due to inspections and bureaucracy.

A Department of Education spokesman said: "It is disappointing that the NUT and NASUWT are striking over the Government's measures to allow heads to pay good teachers more."

The spokeswoman said a recent poll found that 61% of those questioned backed linking teachers' pay to performance and a majority were opposed to walkouts.

"All strikes will do is disrupt parents' lives, hold back children's education and damage the reputation of the profession," she added.

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GP Plan To Bring In Out-Of-Hours Surgeries

David Cameron has told Sky News he wants doctors' surgeries to be open for longer to ease the pressure on overstretched A&E departments.

The Prime Minister confirmed plans for a £50m trial to have surgeries open from 8am until 8pm, seven days a week.

He insisted the pilot scheme in areas across England, which is expected to cover up to half a million patients, would be properly funded.

Almost one in five patients in a recent NHS survey said inconvenient appointments were a concern, with more than 70% backing weekend and after office opening hours.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will outline the plans at the Tory conference

The scheme, which was unveiled at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, will offer extra cash to groups of GPs proposing the most effective ways to improve patient access.

As well as extended surgery hours, ministers hope they will pioneer more effective use of technology, such as consultations with patients via video calls, email and by telephone.

Electronic prescriptions, online appointment booking and allowing people to visit a number of different surgeries across an area are among other measures which could be introduced.

Mr Cameron told Sky: "Sometimes people using Accident & Emergency really just need to see a GP but for hard-working people it is often too difficult because you are at work, you can't get an appointment at the time that fits.

"Let's see if we can have GPs' surgeries open 12 hours a day, seven days a week so you can always get that appointment you need.

"We are starting with pilot schemes in 9 regions of England. We are spending the money to help GPs achieve this. We will be able to see how it works."

He added: "I believe that will work well and then our ambition is to roll that out across the country. That is good for hard-working people but I also think it is right for our health service.

"If you look at A&E, since 2004 when the GP contract changed we see four million more people a year going to Accident & Emergency so I think we are not getting the balance right at the moment."

The first pilot projects are due to be operating by April 2014.

Similar initiatives are already being trialled in some parts of the country, including parts of Manchester, where some surgeries will move to seven-day opening.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who will talk about the initiative in his speech to the conference, said: "We live in a 24/7 society and we need GPs to find new ways of working so they can offer appointments at times that suit hard-working people.

"Cutting-edge GP practices here in Manchester are leading the way, and we want many more patients across the country to benefit."

Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector for General Practice, said: "This move towards seven day services is great news for patients and should be embraced by GPs.

"I want to see brilliant access to GP services for patients across the country and will be assessing this in each practice I inspect."

However, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham accused Mr Cameron and his Conservative Party of "taking the NHS backwards".

"This announcement is a major admission of failure and a U-turn of fairly epic proportions," he said.

"Patients are also finding it harder to get appointments, and turning to A&E instead, after he removed Labour's guarantee of an appointment within 48 hours."

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Thames Duck Boat Fire: 30 Pulled From River

Around 30 people have been rescued from the River Thames after their tour boat caught on fire.

The passengers were forced to jump overboard when flames took hold on the London Duck Tours amphibious vessel on a stretch of water close to Lambeth Bridge.

Some 28 tourists and two crew members were hauled to safety by passing tour barges after the fire broke out shortly before midday on Sunday.

A woman and a child were taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation.

The blaze on the amphibious vessel is being investigated

Further tourists were treated for smoke inhalation at the riverside, opposite the Houses of Parliament.

All passengers were accounted for, but London Fire Brigade group manager Neil Withers said they were in shock.

"Fortunately at this stage it doesn't look like anyone's been seriously injured," he said.

The cause of the fire is not yet known

"People are clearly cold, wet and in shock but they were pulled from the water really quickly and that's testament to the work of our firefighters, other emergency rescue teams and others who rushed to the scene to help.

"The casualties, who are tourists, are being looked after by the London Ambulance Service and firefighters, who are keeping them warm and making them cups of tea."

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

"The damaged boat was pulled away from the scene by our fire boat and a full investigation into exactly what happened will now be taking place," Mr Withers said.

The Port of London Authority is also expected to investigate the blaze.

Around one-third of the beleaguered boat was damaged by the blaze, according to the fire brigade.

It is the third time this year that a Duck Tours vessel has run into difficulty.

In June, 22 people were taken to hospital after the Yellow Duckmarine amphibious tour bus sunk in Liverpool.

Another Yellow Duckmarine tour bus reportedly sank in the city dock in March. Nobody was injured in that incident.

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Antoin Akpom Murder: Second Man Arrested

Police have arrested another man in connection with the murder of a youth football coach who was stabbed to death in the street.

The 19-year-old was arrested on Sunday evening in Cardiff in relation to Antoin Akpom's death in Leicester on September 12.

He is the second person to be held by police investigating the murder.

Abdul Hakim, also 19, of Wood Hill, was remanded in custody after appearing in court on September 18 charged with 20-year-old Mr Akpom's murder.

Mr Akpom, who coached a youth football team at Leicester Nirvana FC, was found injured in Kent Street and later died from his wounds.

A Leicestershire Police spokesman said: "Detectives investigating the murder of Leicester man Antoin Akpom have arrested a man in connection with the incident.

"The 19-year-old man was arrested in Cardiff on Sunday evening and currently remains in police custody.

"On September 17, detectives charged a 19-year-old man with the murder of Antoin. He has since been remanded into custody and is due to appear at Leicester Crown Court at a later date."

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Police Chief: 'Make Class A Drugs Legal'

One of England's top police officers has called for class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine to be legalised.

Durham chief constable Mike Barton claimed the war on drugs had failed and decriminalisation was the best way to strip power away from criminal gangs.

Writing in The Observer, the national intelligence leader for the Association of Chief Police Officers also suggested the NHS should supply class A drugs to addicts.

He said: "Not all crime gangs raise income through selling drugs, but most of them do in my experience. So offering an alternative route of supply to users cuts off the gang's income stream.

"If an addict were able to access drugs via the NHS or some similar organisation, then they would not have to go out and buy illegal drugs.

"Drugs should be controlled. They should not, of course, be freely available.

"I think addiction to anything - drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc - is not a good thing, but outright prohibition hands revenue streams to villains."

Under Mr Barton's direction, Durham Constabulary launched Operation Sledgehammer, a sustained campaign  to "get in the faces" of organised crime gangs.

He has previously claimed to seek inspiration in the way notorious Prohibition-era mafioso Al Capone was finally brought down not for bootlegging, but tax evasion.

The officer, who has served for nearly 34 years, said he had witnessed a worsening drug addiction problem since prohibition began in 1971 with the Misuse of Drugs Act.

He argued that pushers had made billions from adulterated drugs, transforming them into local folk heroes for young people.

"Decriminalising their commodity will immediately cut off their income stream and destroy their power," he said.

"Making drugs legal would tackle the supply chain much more effectively and much more economically than we can currently manage."

Mr Barton said that offering drugs therapeutically through the NHS and similar organisations would avoid the spread of HIV and hepatitis C among needle users.

But he underlined that he was in favour of their use in a controlled environment, rather than a "free for all".

"I am saying that people who encourage others to take drugs by selling them are criminals, and their actions should be tackled," he said.

"But addicts, on the other hand, need to be treated, cared for and encouraged to break the cycle of addiction. They do not need to be criminalised."

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Cameron Launches State-Backed Mortgages Plan

David Cameron will announce that state-backed mortgages to help people on modest incomes get onto the property ladder will start within days - three months earlier than planned.

The mortgage guarantees will allow buyers to acquire a newly built home or an existing property worth up to £600,000 with a deposit of only 5%.

The second stage of the Help to Buy scheme aims to boost mortgage availability by reducing the risk for lenders because the Government takes on the risk of default when it guarantees a proportion of a loan.

Mr Cameron says the 'earlier the better' for the scheme's launch

Mr Cameron believes that will help solve the skewed market that means people on good wages struggle to buy even modest properties because they cannot scrape together the massive deposits needed or find a mortgage.

The scheme was due to start in January next year but the Prime Minister will say at the Conservative Party conference today that people will be able to start applying for the new mortgage guarantee from next week.

Mr Cameron said: "Young people who've got a decent job and have got decent earnings - they cannot buy a house or a flat, because they have to have a £30,000, £40,000 or £50,000 deposit.  Now, if you haven't got rich parents, you can't get that sort of money.

"So we're going to launch the Help To Buy Scheme - it's not coming in next year, it's coming in next week, because I'm passionate about helping people who want to own their own flat or home.

"You take a nurse married to a teacher. They're both earning £25,000 - that's pretty close to average full time earnings. If they want to buy a £200,000 house, they're going to have to find a £40,000 deposit.

"Now, they can't do that, unless they've got rich parents. That's not right. That's not an aspiration nation."

But the scheme has attracted widespread concern, with some claiming it may lead to more problems than it solves.

Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable warned the scheme "could inflate the market" and said he feared there was a "danger of getting into another housing bubble".

Former Bank of England governor Lord King said the scheme is "too close for comfort" to a general scheme to guarantee mortgages.

Mr Balls says the Government focus should be on affordable homes

Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "If David Cameron is serious about helping first-time buyers he should be bringing forward investment to build more affordable homes. Rising demand for housing must be matched with rising supply, but under this government housebuilding is at its lowest level since the 1920s.

"Unless David Cameron acts now to build more affordable homes, as Labour has urged, then soaring prices risk making it even harder for first time buyers to get on the housing ladder.

"You can't deal with the cost of living crisis without building more homes, so it's no wonder that for millions of families this is no recovery at all."

The first stage of Help To Buy was launched in April and offers loans to give people the chance to buy a new-build home with a deposit of just 5%. The scheme has been credited with spurring a surge in home sales and driving up prices.

:: Watch Conservative Party conference coverage on Sky News from 2pm

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