Labour Badly Bruised By UKIP In Stronghold

Why The Only Way For Essex Is UKIP

Updated: 8:12pm UK, Friday 23 May 2014

By Jason Farrell, Political Correspondent

Standing by the roadside in their purple rosettes are two retired Essex men, Malcolm Elliott and Dave Morrish. They are brothers-in-law, both living in Thurrock.

One is a right-wing Thatcherite - the other a former left-wing activist who emigrated when Margaret Thatcher was in power.

They have never agreed on politics until now. Now they are waiting for their hero of the hour to arrive, Nigel Farage.

As the anticipation builds, Malcolm tells me: "I've been a socialist all my life but not anymore because nobody's listening."

"What do you think of Ed Miliband?" I ask.

"I don't frankly. I don't believe in any of them anymore."

His brother-in-law Dave agrees. "I voted Tory for 47 years. But I feel it doesn't matter if you vote Tory, Labour or the Lib Dems, what you're going to get is the EU and that's what I don't want. Renegotiation is a nonsense. Every European treaty states that it's not negotiable."

In the local elections UKIP has increased its number of seats in Thurrock from one to six, meaning the council is no longer controlled by Labour. Thanks to UKIP the Conservatives also lost control of Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point and Southend: Essex man is becoming UKIP man.

As Mr Farage arrives the activists can hardly reach him for the cameras. The UKIP leader tells reporters his success in Essex does not mean he will stand for a seat here.

He also fields a number of questions about why his party failed to make the same impact down the road in London, where they only got 7% of the vote.

"We have a weak voluntary structure in London," he says. "We haven't built it. We haven't developed it. We haven't had the right local leaders. Once we get the right local Leaders we will start having results like this in London."

In previous elections this seat has seesawed from red to blue. The nearby parade of shops tells its own story of a community in decline. A pound shop, a Boots, a butcher's and a Greggs are among a row of otherwise boarded and shuttered facades. The butcher tells me that in the last five years for every shop that has closed, nothing has replaced them.

In Thurrock more than one in five children live in poverty. There has been a 200% increase in the use of food banks in recent months. If Ed Miliband's message about the "cost of living crisis" were to resonate anywhere, you would think it would be here. But instead they are more interested in what Mr Farage has to say about the EU and immigration.

In the local coffee shop I ask a group of pensioners why that is. "In this area we've swung between Labour and the Conservatives," says one man. "And what have either of them done for us? They've put their pay up 11% while our pensions have gone up 1%." There are six of them round the table and they all support UKIP.

The current MP is conservative Jackie Doyle-Price. With a shock of bleach-blonde hair and an upbringing on a Sheffield estate, she is far from fitting the Tories characterisation of Etonian established elite, and she is not someone to trot out the agreed party message.   

"There's been a definite mood on the doorstep of people saying the political classes don't speak to us anymore and if you look at the Westminster debate it's become very managerial, very bland, and along come UKIP with some populist messages and people say to themselves, let's give the main political parties a good kicking, and they have."

The overall mood is that Thurrock feels neglected and ignored by Westminster and therefore easily swept along by a new political wind. It seems, for many in Essex, the only way is UKIP.

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Parties Reel From UKIP Election Success

UKIP's haul of seats in the council elections is up to 184 with the main parties now mulling the prospect of four-party politics in next year's general election.

Nigel Farage has said his anti-EU party is a "serious player" for 2015 after they added 167 councillors at the expense of the Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats.

UKIP made gains in traditional Labour and Conservative heartlands, including strong showings in Rotherham - where it returned 10 out of 21 councillors.

It also got a big thumbs thumbs up from 'Essex Man' with a strong showing in areas such as Thurrock, Castle Point and Basildon.

However, it still does not have overall control of any council, and fared particularly poorly in London

Nigel Farage claims the 'UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse'

Mr Farage told the leaders of the main parties he would "see them in Westminster" and said the results showed UKIP had the potential to cause an "earthquake" at the general election.

"The UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse," he claimed.

"If voters think we are in with a chance of winning next year, then we are."

Sky News projections suggest UKIP would only return one MP next year - its first, but the possibility of it building momentum and wooing more voters over the next year is a major headache for party leaders.

The state of play with just two councils still to announce their results

The Prime Minister conceded the Conservatives had to start delivering on immigration and welfare reform, and said the public had become "frustrated" with the status quo.

Critics have also rounded on Labour leader Ed Miliband, saying he failed to mount a serious campaign to tackle UKIP and pointing to a series of PR blunders in the run up to polling day.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the public had grown 'frustrated'

Mr Miliband, who has promised to help families cut living costs through policies such as freezing energy prices, was accused of being out of touch when he underestimated the cost of a weekly food shop.

Labour's election was far from a disaster - it gained control of five more councils in the election - but the gains are thought to be some way from the shot in the arm the party needs to head towards an overall majority in 2015.

Another hung parliament could be on the cards if voters go the same way in 2015, with Sky projections pointing towards Labour falling short by 18 MPs.

Ed Miliband made several PR gaffes in the run-up to the election

The Liberal Democrats also had a dismal election night as voters ensured Nick Clegg's party lost control of councils in Kingston-Upon-Thames and Portsmouth.

Mr Clegg admitted the party had done badly but said: "Actually I think in the areas where we have MPs where we have good organisation on the ground ... we are actually doing well."

UKIP made gains in areas of Essex such as Southend, where it won five seats

With 159 or 161 councils now declared, Labour have won 3,999 seats, giving it control of 81 councils - an increase of five.

The Conservatives have 2,679 seats overall, controlling 41 councils - down 13; and the Liberal Democrats picked up 882 seats, seeing the number of councils under their control falling from eight to six.

The focus now moves to Sunday night when the count will come in for the European election.

:: Follow all the results as they come in on Twitter with @skyelections.

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Natasha McShane's Attacker Jailed For 90 Years

A man convicted of the attempted murder of UK exchange student Natasha McShane in Chicago four years ago has been jailed for 90 years.

Ms McShane, from Silverbridge, Co Armagh, and her American friend Stacy Jurich, 24, were left bleeding and unconscious during a robbery on April 23, 2010, in Chicago.

Heriberto Viramontes was found guilty in October

Heriberto Viramontes, 34, was found guilty in October.

In sentencing him to 90 years, Cook County Judge Jorge Alonso said Viramontes was motivated by "greed and hate" when he attacked the two young women, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

"You attacked them with all the force you could muster and you left them there to die," Mr Alonso said.

"Their only sin was believing it was safe to walk four or five blocks in the city of Chicago."

Ms McShane, who was 23 at the time of the attack, was beaten with a baseball bat and left with brain damage.

She is no longer able to speak or walk unassisted as a result of her head injuries.

Ms Jurich, 28, told the judge: "In an instant, I went from smiling and laughing to being on my knees dripping with blood wondering if Natasha was alive."

The newspaper reported that Ms Jurich and Ms Mcshane's mother hugged after the sentence was read out, and welcomed the lengthy jail time.

Ms McShane had been studying urban planning at the University of Illinois when the attack occurred.

The case shocked Northern Ireland.

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Local Elections: UKIP Makes Significant Gains

Nigel Farage has claimed his party will win double the number of seats predicted as UKIP makes significant gains across the country.

Early on Friday morning UKIP had already surpassed the 80 seats it had been expected to take, dealing a significant blow to the main parties.

UKIP took seats off both Labour and the Conservatives in their heartlands, which was particularly damaging to Ed Miliband, who has been accused by his own party of running a "unforgiveably unprofessional" campaign.

A ballot box is emptied at Trinity School in Croydon

Labour lost its grip in the north and, in a serious blow, the party lost control of Thurrock, a key marginal for the General Election in 2015, to no overall control, losing two seats to UKIP.

Mr Farage said UKIP would now be "serious players" in the General Election and said the party was expecting to win double the 80 seats that had been predicted.

He said: "The UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse" and added: "The idea the UKIP vote just hurts the Tories is going to be blown away by this election." 

However, Mr Farage, who has consistently warned the local and European elections would deliver a UKIP "earthquake", admitted that the party was unlikely to be successful in London.

Douglas Alexander, Labour's election co-ordinator, was forced to deny fighting a "lacklustre" campaign.

He told Sky News the only way to tackle the march of UKIP was by deploying an "army of activists" on the doorsteps and said that Labour had knocked on seven million doors.

Joey Essex may have supported Ed Miliband but Essex man voted UKIP

Mr Alexander said there was a "deep antipathy to how politics has been done" and UKIP had scooped up that vote but that "strengthening and growing the ground operation" was the only strategy for 2015.

UKIP made its greatest gains in Essex, where Margaret Thatcher once identified the "Essex Man", a man who moved out of London, once voted Labour but switched to the Tories.

UKIP took seats from Labour in Hartlepool, won 10 seats in Rotherham and polled more than a third of the vote in wards in big cities, such as Sunderland, Birmingham and Hull, where it previously had little or no presence.

According to the latest Sky News projection, the results so far would give a hung parliament at the 2015 General Election.

Mr Farage casts his vote in Cudham, Kent

Sky's election analyst Professor Michael Thrasher said UKIP's success suggested the party would claim at least one seat in the House of Commons next year

Conservative Education Secretary Michael Gove said the results had not been as bad as expected. He categorically ruled out any chance of a pact with UKIP.

Most councils will not declare their results until later on Friday.

The Camerons and the Milibands cast their votes

As predicted, the Liberal Democrats suffered significant losses, particularly in Portsmouth where it lost control with UKIP gaining six seats.

However, it managed to hold on in Eastleigh, where UKIP had been expected to make gains, which was a significant victory for the party.

Business Secretary Vince Cable admitted it would be a bad night, adding: "We take a kicking for the things that government does that are unpopular."

:: Follow all the results as they come in on Twitter with @skyelections.

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Hundreds Discharged From Hospitals Every Night

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

Thousands of NHS patients are being discharged from hospitals every year in the middle of the night despite bosses ordering a crackdown on the practice, a Sky News investigation has found.

The number of patients leaving hospital in England between 11pm and 6am has actually risen in the last two years, new figures show.

In almost half of cases, the proportion of patients discharged overnight has increased.

In April 2012 NHS England medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh called on hospitals to cut down on overnight discharges following a series of cases where vulnerable patients had been left to make their own way home.

Dr Mike Smith has said the practice is driven by the need for beds

The NHS was accused of discharging patients overnight to try to free up beds.

However, figures obtained by Sky News following Freedom of Information (FOI) requests show that since Sir Bruce's intervention the practice is still widespread and in many cases rising.

According to the figures more than 300,000 patients have been discharged late at night since 2012 - an average of around 400 a night. Tens of thousands of those patients were over 75.

As only 72 of England's 160 NHS trusts were able to provide full figures for the last three years, the true number is certain to be far higher.

Dr Mike Smith, chair of the Patients Association, said: "They have got people in A&E chomping at the bit, lying in corridors, they have got to be admitted and they have no beds.

The number of patients discharged overnight increased at 41 hospital trusts

"It's for the convenience of staff and the person they are admitting but at the gross detriment to the person they are chucking out."

Experts say that patients often end up in care homes in the middle of the night.

Nadra Ahmed, chair of the National Care Association, said: "They are going back without any relevant information about how their care might have changed, what the diagnosis might have been, their paperwork is not following because people are off duty and often without the relevant medication they need for the following day or even through the night."

Patient Michael Atkinson told Sky News that in March 2013 he was discharged from the Royal Bolton Hospital A&E at 3am, despite being in a confused state.

He was found by police an hour later wandering on a cricket pitch almost a mile away.

He said: "I did not know who I was, where I was. I did not know where I was going. I was just wandering basically. I was in pain."

Michael Atkinson was found wandering after he was discharged overnight

His wife Helen said: "He could have died. He was blue with cold. Something must be done to stop this happening. You are in hospital for a reason - to be looked after."

The hospital said that Mr Atkinson had left before transport could be arranged for him but said that staff had tried to learn lessons from the incident.

Sky News asked 160 NHS trusts in England how many patients had been discharged between 11pm and 6am in the past three years.

Of those, 72 trusts provided figures for all three years. In 41 cases, the number of patients discharged overnight increased.

In 31 cases the proportion of patients discharged between 11pm and 6am increased. In three trusts it remained the same.

Of the 72 trusts that replied, 152,472 patients were discharged between 11pm and 6am in 2011/12, rising to 152,479 in 2013/14.

The figures also reveal that 20,152 were aged over 75 in 2011/12; 19,728 in 2012/13 and 18,548 in 2013/14.

The proportion of patients discharged overnight remained the same at 2.41%.

Some 25 trusts said they did not collect the data or that it would take too much time to find it and the remaining hospitals did not reply to the FOI request.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: "Discharging patients at night without appropriate support is unacceptable, particularly if a patient is vulnerable.

"Where a patient wishes to leave late at night or early in the morning, it should be accommodated only where it is safe and clinically appropriate and with the support of family, friends or carers.

"The decision to do this should always be based on what is best for the patient."

:: Have your say on Facebook or share your experiences on Twitter using the hashtag #nhsovernight

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Patients Discharged At Night: 'It's Sickening'

Sky News viewers have reacted with anger at our investigation that shows the number of patients leaving hospital in England between 11pm and 6am has risen.

Health Correspondent Thomas Moore's report comes despite NHS bosses ordering a crackdown on the practice.

Sarah Louise Matthews-Lang wrote on Facebook: "I'm a care assistant in a brilliant care home and it sickens me if a resident of ours gets sent back to us at 2am, yes that's right 2am.

"It's shocking how they send them back without relatives, so they are very distressed due to this. Yes I do give the hospital hell as this is abuse, and so do the family that doesn't get information from hospital when they should."

Diane Widger wrote: "I worked in a specialist care home and they sent patients back to us very late at night in the cold and looking distressed!!"

Pepper Ferne also wrote on Facebook: "Yes, it happened to me recently from Leeds General Infirmary. Discharged at 1am, still very shaky and ill. Had to go walking the city and pay £10.00 for a hackney cab home."

However Alan Reynolds thinks it is a difficult decision for the hospitals.

He wrote: "Who has the greater need for the bed: the person in A&E needing treatment or the person whose treatment has been completed? Seems obvious to me, and it looks a case of needs must. How this is managed to maximise utilisation of a scarce resource may not be easy to answer."

Alexander Crossley wrote on Twitter: "If a patient is healthy enough to go home at 2am they should do so the hospital can treat others."

Rachel Fedden worte on Facebook: "I was discharged from the maternity unit at 10pm. Had to wait half an hour for hubby to collect me bringing the 7 and 5 yr olds with him. I was back in 2 days later with same problem!"

Kyasurin Pope also wrote on Facebook: "I was discharged at 2am when I had kidney stones.They were prepping me for the wards and put my drip in and things then suddenly had a phone call and told me to go home. Its atrocious."

:: Have your say on Facebook or share your experiences on Twitter using the hashtag #nhsovernight

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Food Worth £1bn Wasted Every Year Across UK

By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

Food worth £1bn is wasted in the UK every year before it even reaches our fridges, according to figures obtained by Sky News.

Damage, flawed appearance and the cost of recycling are just some of the justifications used for throwing food away.

Growers, producers and retailers together bin an average of 400,000 tons annually, or more than 950 million meals.

For the first time, Britain's biggest food retailer, Tesco, is expected to publish the amount of food wasted each year within its UK operations.

The figures will show that more than 50,000 tons - about 1% of all products - gets thrown out.

Matt Simister, Commercial Director, Group Food at Tesco, said: "It really does impact a family's budget.

"What we're saying is that we acknowledge that we have a role to play in helping mums to save more money in the household.

Tesco says it is trying to reduce waste at private distribution centres

"We can reduce the wastage in our own operations, but I think more importantly, we can start to influence the wastage that happens across the whole system."

Families throw away around six meals a week.

Over a year, that can cost up to £700, according to the latest figures from the UK's Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) published in November.

So when you add in what is wasted by consumers too, the total value is closer to £13.5bn.

At private distribution centres, Tesco says it's trying to reduce the tonnage of edible waste.

Food that is perfectly edible, but unsuitable for store shelves, is packed up and sent out to charities that feed the hungry.

Even if the economic recovery does ease the pinch on family budgets this year, the cost of some basic foods will continue to rise, according to market experts.

Halving the amount of discarded food is a goal for Wrap

Joe Rundle, a trader at ETX Capital, said: "Corn, coffee, meat … everything is going to go up considerably.

"In the short term there are seasonal factors and environmental issues that have caused the spike."

Brazil, a large coffee producer, has experienced drought, and tension between Ukraine and Russia has prompted a rise in the price of wheat.

"In the long term we are going to see an emerging middle class in the emerging markets that are really going to consume a lot more food and therefore push the price up."

Mr Rundle added: "That will probably mean that consumers are going to have to change the way they consume food and think about the way they waste it."

Wrap wants to halve the amount of discarded food by 2025.

Achieving that target should also mean the cost to consumers comes down too.

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Prince Charles 'Compares Putin To Hitler'

Prince Charles has reportedly compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler over his actions in Ukraine.

The Prince of Wales' alleged remark about Mr Putin came during a four-day tour of Canada when he spoke to a woman who fled the Nazis and lost family members in the Holocaust.

A spokesman for Clarence House said: "We do not comment on private conversations.

"But we would like to stress that the Prince of Wales would not seek to make a public political statement during a private conversation."

Charles was being shown around the Museum of Immigration in Halifax, Nova Scotia, along with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The royal couple paid tribute to World War Two veterans and their families, and during the course of the visit they spoke to museum volunteer Marienne Ferguson.

Ms Ferguson told the Prince she fled to Canada with her family in 1939, not long before Hitler annexed the Baltic coastal Free City of Gdansk.

Prince Charles and Camilla in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island

Speaking to the Press Association after meeting Charles, the 78-year-old said: "The Prince said 'And now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler'.

"I must say that I agree with him and am sure a lot of people do.

"But I was very surprised that he made the comment as I know they [members of the Royal Family] aren't meant to say these things.

"I told the Prince that while my family and I were lucky to get a permit to travel, many members of my relatives had permits but were unable to get out before the war broke out on September 1.

"They were sent to the concentration camps and died."

The Daily Mail reported that the Prince made his comments while surrounded by media and they were heard by several witnesses.

Mr Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Sky News: "I don't know anything about it. I can't really trust the Daily Mail as a source."

Mr Putin is in Shanghai meeting with Xi Jinping and other world leaders

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has backed Prince Charles, telling a radio station: "I certainly support his right to speak freely."

But Labour (Co-op) MP Mike Gapes, who represents Ilford South, criticised the Prince of Wales' alleged comments.

He said on Twitter: "If Prince Charles wants to make controversial statements on national or international issues he should abdicate and stand for election.

"In constitutional monarchy, policy and diplomacy should be conducted by parliament and government. Monarchy should be seen and not heard."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has backed Mr Putin's anti-EU stance in the past, said: "Prince Charles has made those comments - I know some people feel that way about Putin.

"I think there's a difference. The difference is right from the very start Hitler was expansionist, and we haven't see very much evidence of that until now from Putin and arguably, what's happened in the Ukraine is because he's been poked with a stick by the rest of the world."

Charles and the Russian leader are due to meet next month when they attend the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6.

Mr Putin has faced international anger over Russia's actions in neighbouring Ukraine, including the controversial annexation of Crimea.

In March, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly said Mr Putin's claim to be be defending ethnic Russians in Crimea was "what Hitler did back in the '30s".

She later backtracked, claiming she was not making a direct comparison but that Russia's behaviour was "reminiscent" of Germany in the build-up to the Second World War.

Prince Charles has been known for speaking his mind on issues such as architecture and the environment, but he rarely makes his feelings known on diplomatic matters.

There is an ongoing legal battle over the publication of letters he has sent to politicians, with the attorney general concerned their release could compromise the Prince's neutrality and create constitutional problems.

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Somerset Flood Relief Supplies Sent To Balkans

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent in Serbia

Relief supplies used during flooding on the Somerset Levels will be sent to the Balkans as the region battles its worst flooding in more than half a century.

Sandbags which protected homes on the Levels earlier this year will be airlifted to Serbia as residents fight to protect their homes and vital infrastructure.

The relief effort is being coordinated by the international relief organisation Khalsa Aid, with support from the Somerset-based Flooding on the Levels Action Group (FLAG).

Organiser Ravi Singh, from Khalsa Aid, said he hoped the supplies will save many lives and homes.

Huge areas of the Somerset Levels were flooded in January and February

"We have a lot of sandbags, and there's no better cause now than to donate those sandbags to sure up flood defences in Serbia, especially as they're expecting more floods," he said.

"Those sandbags will save a lot of homes and lives, hopefully."

The Serbian Embassy in London is handling the delivery of the sandbags.

Mr Singh and a representative from FLAG will then travel to the region to provide on-ground support, including food, clean water and hygiene packs.

A man waits to be rescued from the rising waters in Vojskova, in Bosnia

Khalsa Aid, which is based in the UK, also provided relief efforts to residents hit by the Somerset floods.

Mr Singh said it was important that communities now work together across international borders during difficult times.

"The Balkans area suffered a lot during the civil war and the wars that followed. We've got mines floating around in the water probably, hundreds of thousands of mines, which is very sad," he said.

"So I think it's going to be a very, very long recovery."

At least 44 people have been killed in the disaster across Bosnia and Serbia, with the death toll expected to rise.

Authorities have begun dredging rivers in the wake of the floods

Around 3,000 landslides have been reported across the region blocking roads and damaging homes.

Some 10,000 people have been evacuated from the worst-affected areas of northern Bosnia.

Many people living near flooded rivers in the Balkans have highlighted concerns about the lack of dredging on some waterways, just as locals did during the floods in Somerset.

The government in Bosnia has revealed that a quarter of the population - around a million people - now have no access to clean water.

A dog is rescued from the flooding in Bosnia

In some towns and villages across Serbia, new evacuation orders have been issued over the past 24 hours as the water levels continue to surge.

The Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic, said: "We cannot seriously and responsibly estimate and make a real assessment on the damage, but I can say it is hundreds of millions (of euros). Some people would say billions."

In Bosnia, Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija called the flood damage "immense" and compared it to the carnage during the country's 1992-95 war.

The floods have destroyed about 100,000 houses and 230 schools and hospitals, and left a million Bosnians without drinking water, he added.

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Hillsborough Jurors To Examine The Stadium

By Mike McCarthy, North of England Correspondent

A fresh stage in the Hillsborough Inquests begins today in which jurors will examine the layout of the Sheffield stadium.

After hearing what are described as "uncontroversial facts" and seeing a computer-generated 3D graphic of the ground, members of the jury will visit the location themselves on Friday.

The new phase in the proceedings follows a three-week adjournment which was granted after lawyers asked for more time to consider pathology evidence.

It begins with a presentation by a senior detective working for Operation Resolve - a separate police investigation into the causes of the 1989 disaster in which 96 people lost their lives.

Detective Superintendent Neil Malkin will cover a number of topics including previous inquiries in an address expected to last two days.

The tragedy occurred during a 1989 FA Cup semi-final

The inquests, which are being held in a converted office block in Warrington, are expected to last for up to a year and have so far heard from relatives of those who died. 

Their evidence, described as 'pen portraits', covered 11 days. 

After the last one was read out, lawyer Michael Mansfield QC, who is acting for many of the bereaved families, told the coroner: "They wish to express both to you and your counsel and to everyone in this court their appreciation… for the care, for the patience, for the understanding that has been extended to each of them.

"This has enabled them to unlock painful memories, as you described them last week, upsetting but also uplifting. It has provided… a permanent testament to the dignity of the human spirit."   

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Hunt For Killer On Run From Jail For Third Time

Police are hunting a convicted murderer who has gone on the run from prison for the third time.

Arnold Pickering, 44, and armed robber Thomas Moffett, 51, walked out of HMP Kennet in Liverpool at 9.30am on Saturday morning.

The pair were due back at around 4.40pm the same day. Their disappearance was reported to Merseyside Police at about 7pm.

Moffett was arrested around 9pm on Sunday in Blackburn, Lancashire, for being unlawfully at large.

But Pickering has not been found. He is serving a life sentence for stabbing a man to death in Oldham, Greater Manchester, in 1990.

He killed his 55-year-old victim, who was partially blind and deaf, while on the run from Strangeways in Manchester.

Moffett armed himself with a nail gun and robbed off-licences

Pickering last absconded in December 2009 when he was let out on day release from HMP Kirkham to work on the bins in Manchester city centre.

He handed himself in four days later in Motherwell, Scotland.

The killer is described as around 5ft 11in tall, medium build with blue eyes. He has tattoos on his arms and chest.

Moffett is serving an indeterminate sentence for a string of robberies carried out in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 2006.

He armed himself with a nail gun and then raided six off-licences.

The pair were risk assessed as suitable for temporary release on licence by the Ministry of Justice.

The disappearance comes just two weeks after armed robber Michael Wheatley, known as "Skullcracker", absconded from Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, while on temporary release.

Speaking about the latest case, Prisons Minister Jeremy Wright has said there would now be "major changes" brought in as a "matter of urgency".

"I am not prepared to see public safety compromised," he said.

"The system for allowing prisoners out on temporary licence has been too lax up till now and we are making major changes to address this.

"There will shortly be significant restrictions on who is granted temporary release - which from now on must be earnt - tightening up of monitoring arrangements and abolishing any leave without a clear link to rehabilitation."

Officers are appealing to anyone with information to call Merseyside Police on either 0151 777 3803 or 0151 777 3891, or via 101.

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AstraZeneca Rejects Pfizer 'Final Offer'

AstraZeneca Rejects Pfizer: Full Statement

Updated: 8:09am UK, Monday 19 May 2014

The Board of AstraZeneca PLC ("AstraZeneca" or the "Company") notes the announcement by Pfizer Inc. ("Pfizer") of its final proposal (the "Final Proposal"), comprising £24.76 in cash (45%) and 1.747 Pfizer shares (55%) per AstraZeneca share, representing a value of £55.00 per AstraZeneca share (based on the closing price of Pfizer shares on 16 May 2014).

This proposal undervalues the Company and its attractive prospects and has been rejected by the Board of AstraZeneca.

Leif Johansson, Chairman of AstraZeneca said: "Pascal Soriot, Marc Dunoyer and I had a lengthy discussion with Pfizer over the weekend about the proposal Pfizer made on Friday evening at a value of £53.50 per share.

"During this discussion, Pfizer said that it could consider only minor improvements in the financial terms of the Friday Proposal. In response, we indicated, even assuming that other key aspects of any proposal had been satisfactory, that the price at which the Board of AstraZeneca would be prepared to provide a recommendation would have to be more than 10% above the level contained in Pfizer's Friday Proposal.

"The Final Proposal is a minor improvement which continues to fall short of the Board's view of value and has been rejected."

"Pfizer's approach throughout its pursuit of AstraZeneca appears to have been fundamentally driven by the corporate financial benefits to its shareholders of cost savings and tax minimisation.

"From our first meeting in January to our latest discussion yesterday, and in the numerous phone calls in between, Pfizer has failed to make a compelling strategic, business or value case.

"The Board is firm in its conviction as to the appropriate terms to recommend to shareholders."

"AstraZeneca has created a culture of innovation, with science at the heart of its operations, which will continue to create significant value for patients, shareholders and all stakeholders of AstraZeneca."

"As an independent company, the entire value of AstraZeneca's pipeline will accrue to our shareholders. Under Pfizer's Final Proposal, this value would be significantly diluted."

"We have rejected Pfizer's Final Proposal because it is inadequate and would present significant risks for shareholders, while also having serious consequences for the Company, our employees and the life-sciences sector in the UK, Sweden and the US."

Background

After the close of business on 16 May 2014, the Board received a letter containing a revised non-binding proposal from Pfizer comprising £21.57 in cash (40%) and 1.845 Pfizer shares (60%) per AstraZeneca share, representing a value of £53.50 per AstraZeneca share (based on the closing price of Pfizer shares on 16 May 2014) (the "Friday Proposal").

Pfizer's letter did not provide detail about other key aspects of its proposal, several of which are of importance to the Board's evaluation.

The Board of AstraZeneca met on 17 May 2014 and concluded that the financial terms of the Friday Proposal substantially undervalued the Company and its attractive prospects. Accordingly, the Friday Proposal was rejected.

The Board wrote to Pfizer on the evening of 17 May 2014 to confirm that the Board had rejected the Friday Proposal.

The Board offered to hold a meeting with Pfizer to explain its views around the substantial shortfall in value of the Friday Proposal.

The Board also offered Pfizer the opportunity to explain the key aspects of its proposal that were not described in Pfizer's letter, in particular four points central to the Board's concerns relating to value for AstraZeneca's shareholders. These are:

· The business operating model and segmentation which would allow AstraZeneca to deliver on its research and development pipeline and prospects; and which would protect and preserve its culture of science and innovation, especially given the likelihood of material cost savings and research and development reductions;

· The details of Pfizer's plans for cost savings, including around research and development, pipeline delivery and employment;

· Transaction execution risks, in particular Pfizer's proposed tax inversion and regulatory clearances; and

· Pfizer's plans for protecting the certainty of delivery of the value of any offer at closing.

Pfizer requested that this meeting be held by conference call. This conference call, between Leif Johansson (Chairman), Pascal Soriot (Chief Executive Officer) and Marc Dunoyer (Chief Financial Officer) of AstraZeneca and Ian Read (Chairman and CEO) and Frank D'Amelio (Chief Financial Officer) of Pfizer, took place on the afternoon of 18 May 2014.

The Chairman of Pfizer said that Pfizer could consider only minor improvements to the financial terms of the Friday Proposal.

The Chairman of AstraZeneca responded that, even if the other key aspects of the Friday Proposal had been satisfactory, the price at which the Board of AstraZeneca would be prepared to provide a recommendation would have to be more than 10% above the level contained in Pfizer's Friday Proposal. Pfizer stated that its Friday Proposal was final and would not be amended.

As a consequence the discussion ended.

The Board of AstraZeneca met on 18 May 2014 after this telephone discussion and reconfirmed its rejection of Pfizer's Friday Proposal.

A few hours later, without prior notice to AstraZeneca and contrary to its previous statement, Pfizer announced its Final Proposal to the market. The Board of AstraZeneca met again and rejected Pfizer's Final Proposal for reasons set out below.

The Board believes Pfizer's proposals fail to recognise the transformation of AstraZeneca and its attractive long term prospects as an independent science-led company

As set out in the presentation to shareholders on 6 May 2014:

· AstraZeneca has a growing and accelerating late stage pipeline, with aggregate risk-adjusted pipeline peak year sales potential of around $23 billion and non risk-adjusted pipeline peak year sales potential of around $63 billion;

· AstraZeneca's five key growth platforms are sustaining near-term growth, AstraZeneca remains confident that 2017 revenues should be broadly in line with 2013;

· AstraZeneca is targeting strong and consistent revenue growth from 2017, leading to annual revenues of greater than $45 billion by 2023; and

· AstraZeneca's core earnings growth is expected to be in excess of revenue growth during the period from 2017 to 2023 as a result of operating leverage.

AstraZeneca has excellent momentum in the delivery of its clearly defined strategy, underpinning the Board's confidence in long term revenue targets and profitability

AstraZeneca continues to demonstrate strong momentum across all elements of its strategy, as evidenced by multiple recent significant pipeline developments in its core therapy areas.

These pipeline developments, announced in 2014 after completion of the Company's 2013 Long Range Plan, underpin the Board's confidence in AstraZeneca's revenue targets due to increased probabilities of success for key oncology and other specialty franchise pipeline assets.

As a result, AstraZeneca's margins are expected to benefit from this improved revenue mix.

Given that AstraZeneca is at a point of inflection, the Board believes that selling AstraZeneca at the final price proposed by Pfizer would deprive shareholders of the value from potential future pipeline success.

Accordingly, the Board believes short term metrics, including premia over historical share prices, as referenced by Pfizer regarding the attractiveness of its proposals are not appropriate bases for assessing the value of AstraZeneca.

Pfizer's Proposals and Business Model Bring Uncertainty and Risk

The majority of the consideration is in Pfizer shares which many AstraZeneca shareholders will be forced to sell. Further, for those AstraZeneca shareholders able to hold Pfizer shares, the Board believes Pfizer's proposals would materially alter the investment case and create risks and uncertainties.

In particular the Board believes:

· Pfizer's proposals are predicated on the delivery of significant cost reductions and imply a meaningful reduction in research and development potential and capabilities;

· The associated integration would risk significant disruption to the delivery and value of AstraZeneca's pipeline;

· Pfizer's previous large scale acquisitions have highlighted the challenges around the negative impact of integration on research and development productivity and output; and

· Pfizer's announced business segmentation, if it were applied to AstraZeneca's business, would likely lead to value destruction.

In the context of the above, AstraZeneca notes the recent decline in Pfizer's share price, which has fallen by 5.3% since the release of Pfizer's Q1 2014 results.

The tax-driven inversion structure remains a key part of Pfizer's proposals. The inversion structure has already been the subject of intense public and governmental scrutiny, particularly in the US, as a result of Pfizer's possible offer for AstraZeneca. The Board believes this structure brings increased uncertainty as regards the delivery of value for AstraZeneca shareholders.

Rejection of the Final Proposal

The Board believes that Pfizer's Final Proposal, in relation to price, form of consideration and the four particular points that are central to the Board's concerns around value, remains inadequate. Accordingly, the Board has rejected the Final Proposal.

This statement is being made by AstraZeneca without prior agreement or approval of Pfizer.

There can be no certainty that an offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made. Shareholders are strongly advised to take no action. 

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Pig Hearts For Humans 'A Step Closer'

By Gerard Tubb, Sky News Correspondent

Doctors have made a breakthrough in research that could lead to animal organs being transplanted into humans within the next 20 years, according to a leading British scientist.

Experiments in America have proved a pig's heart can be kept alive inside another animal for more than a year using a combination of genetic modification and new drugs.

In controversial research at the US national medical research agency NIH, a team led by Dr Muhammad Mohiuddin transplanted the hearts of genetically engineered pigs into the abdomens of baboons and kept one beating for 600 days.

Anne Higgs says she would accept a pig's heart

Dr Mohiuddin said his research will "instill a new ray of hope for thousands of patients waiting for human donor organs".

Professor Chris Mason, from the department of biochemical engineering at University College London, called the development a big breakthrough.

"It is very early, it is not in man and it's not even in the position of a heart, but it's a huge step forward," he said.

With around 1,000 patients dying in the UK while waiting for an organ transplant, Professor Mason welcomes the prospect of farming pigs to produce organs on demand.

"We are talking 10, 15 or more years away," he explained.

"This is early proof of the concept that shows that a pig heart can be transplanted into a non-human primate and not be rejected."

Heart attack victim Anne Higgs has been waiting for a heart transplant at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for four years and says she would have no qualms about accepting a pig's heart.

"It's another grasp at life," she said.

"Yes I would take it, I would run all the way to the Freeman with that little heart."

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Carney: 'House Prices Biggest Risk To Economy'

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

The British housing market has "deep, deep" problems, according to the Governor of the Bank of England.

In an interview with Sky's Murnaghan show to be broadcast in full later this morning, Mark Carney warns that rising house prices represents the biggest current risk to the economy.

And the number of large mortgages being approved to house buyers is on the rise, he adds.

Mr Carney says that the UK is in need of new house building.

He says that compared to his home country of Canada, for example, the UK built half the number of new homes every year despite having twice the population. 

Canada builds around 200,000 new homes a year compared to just 133,000 similar properties that were built in the UK last year.

Mr Carney said: "The issue around the housing market in the UK … is there are not sufficient (numbers of) houses (being) built."

Mark Carney has issued a warning over the UK housing market

Asked if more houses need to be built, Mr Carney replied: "That would help us out.

"We're not going to build a single house at the Bank of England. We can't influence that.

"What we can influence … is whether the banks are strong enough. Do they have enough capital against risk in the housing market?"

Mr Carney said they could also check lending procedures "so people can get mortgages if they can afford them but they won't if they can't".

"By reinforcing both of those we can reduce the risk that comes from a housing market that has deep, deep structural problems," he added.

Mr Carney said there was evidence that large mortgages, where lenders approve loans of more than four times people's salaries, are on the rise again.

"We don't want to build up another big debt overhang that is going to hurt individuals and is very much going to slow the economy in the medium term," he said.

"We'd be concerned if there was a rapid increase in high loan-to-value mortgages across the banks. We've seen that creeping up and it's something we're watching closely."

In an separate interview for Murnaghan David Cameron admitted the Government needed to build more houses and said Mr Carney was "absolutely right".

However, he added: "The building of houses is going up. If you talk to any housing developer at the moment or builder they will tell you that the help to buy scheme the Government has put in place has been hugely helpful in bringing forward more development or house building.

"We are training apprentices in the building trade to make sure that we can deliver on these houses but we do need more, yes."

Last week, Mr Carney surprised many by playing down the chances of an imminent rise in interest rates despite fears of a growing house price bubble.

But he admitted the issue was the biggest current threat to the economy.

"The biggest risk to financial stability, and therefore to the durability of the expansion, centres on the housing market and that's why we're focused on that," he said.

Prices are currently rising at more than 10% a year across the country.

Analysis by Sky News has shown the number of £1m properties has doubled since 2008.

Earlier this month, the OECD think tank called on the Bank of England to impose measures to help quell rising house prices.

Both the coalition and Labour are committed to building hundreds of thousands of new homes.

However, construction still lags behind Government targets.

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