Thousands Remember Inspirational Stephen

By Rhiannon Mills, News Correspondent

Thousands of people have queued outside Lichfield Cathedral to pay their respects to cancer fundraiser Stephen Sutton ahead of his funeral.

A two-day vigil began on Thursday and will continue until this afternoon with many more expected to sign the book of condolence.

His family will hold a private funeral later where they will say their final goodbyes, but at 11am his mother Jane has asked people to join in a "Thumbs Up For Stephen" event, and "do something to make others happy".

Millions of people across the world have been inspired by Stephen's courage facing terminal cancer.

A 'Thumbs Up For Stephen' event has been planned

The teenager, from Burntwood in Staffordshire, had originally launched his fundraising appeal hoping to raise £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust, but just hours before the vigil began the total had reached more than £4m.

As his hearse arrived on Thursday evening, drawn by four white horses, there was spontaneous applause from the crowd. A bright yellow wreath bearing the icon of a smiley face lay beside the white coffin.

Leading the vigil the Dean of Lichfield, the Very Reverend Adrian Dorber, told the gathered mourners Stephen "in his all too brief life" had taught "how to make the unacceptable, beautiful".

He said: "He chose to share his exuberance with us, not his pain. He was one of those very rare people who've helped us live our lives with generosity."

Julia Hayburn, assistant headteacher at Stephen's former school, Chase Terrace Technology College, said: "Words like awesome, awe-inspiring and inspirational became synonymous with Stephen.

There was spontaneous applause as the hearse carrying Stephen arrived

"But they only touched the surface of what he has become on a national and international scale."

Stephen died on May 14 after succumbing to multiple tumours.

The Teenage Cancer Trust's chief executive Siobhan Dunn said Stephen's memory would "never be forgotten" because it would live on through the work of the charity.

She added: "I think it's really important there's a public celebration of Stephen's life and I think that's exactly what he would have wanted.

"He was looking for us to put the fun into his funeral so hopefully we're going to do that."

14.44 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lord Rennard Is Told To 'Leave Public Life'

Pressure is piling on Nick Clegg to expel Lord Rennard from the Liberal Democrat party after he finally apologised to four women who accused him of sexual harassment.

The ex-chief executive of the party had previously refused to say sorry having maintained his innocence over allegations that he had behaved "inappropriately".

Now it has emerged he has issued an apology in a letter sent to Liberal Democrat HQ.

Bridget Harris, a former adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister, is one of the women who made the allegations.

She resigned from the Lib Dems over the party's failure to act.

Referring to the resignation of Lord Oakeshott from the Liberal Democrats earlier this week, she told Sky News: "If one errant Lib Dem peer has actually himself walked away from the House of Lords as a result of running a few opinion polls, I think that Chris Rennard should be expected to also leave the House of Lords - basically leave public life.

Bridget Harris, left, and Alison Smith, who also received an apology

"I would like to know who does he speak for now in the House of Lords?

"Who does he speak for as a Lib Dem?"

The peer's letter of apology said: "Lord Rennard wishes to achieve closure of the contentious issues that have been in the public domain for the last fourteen months by expressing his apologies to Susan Gaszczak, Alison Goldsworthy, Bridget Harris and Alison Smith.

"Lord Rennard personally accepts the full report of Alistair Webster QC as given to him on March 7th in its entirety.

"He would therefore like to apologise sincerely for any such intrusion and assure them that this would have been inadvertent.

"He hereby expresses his regret for any harm or embarrassment caused to them or anything which made them feel uncomfortable.

"Lord Rennard wishes to make it absolutely clear that it was never his intention to cause distress or concern to them by anything that he ever said or did."

Police investigated claims that Lord Rennard sexually harassed female party activists last year, but decided not to press charges.

But an internal inquiry carried out by Alistair Webster QC found there was broadly credible evidence of "behaviour which violated the personal space and autonomy of the complainants".

Lord Rennard was suspended from the party as a result of the allegations against him, but he remains a Lord.

He is now expected to make a bid to have the Lib Dem whip restored after complying with the recommendations of the inquiry.

14.44 | 0 komentar | Read More

Political Battle Over Who Can Make Scots Richer

The battle for Scotland moved to a scrap over who would put more money in the pockets of the Scottish people as conflicting economic visions were presented by each side.

Westminster claimed staying in the union would mean a £1,400 a year "UK dividend" for Scottish people, while the Scottish Government said splitting would give each person a £1,000 "bonus of independence".

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond both presented their financial cases to the people of Scotland at the same time in buildings on opposite sides of the road in Edinburgh.

Mr Salmond said his financial assessment found Scotland would be £5bn better off by 2029 if the country opted for independence in September's referendum.

He promised to put more money in the pockets of Scottish families without raising taxes from an "increase in productivity".

He said: "Scotland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, more prosperous per head than the UK, France and Japan, but we need the powers of independence to ensure that that wealth properly benefits everyone in our society.

"That wealth means we will start life as an independent nation with strong finances and huge economic potential."

But Mr Alexander cautioned that Scotland would face higher interest payment on Government debt if it left the union and that start-up costs would be £1.5bn alone.

The Westminster and Holyrood governments are both trying to woo voters

Presenting his financial case, Mr Alexander said: "Today we have shown that, by staying together, Scotland's future will be safer, with stronger finances and a more progressive society.

"Because as a United Kingdom we can pool resources and share risks it means a UK dividend of £1,400 a year for every man, woman and child in Scotland.

"That dividend is our share of a more prosperous future. It is the money that will pay for better public services and a fairer society."

Mr Alexander's delivery was dealt a blow after the academic behind the research claimed the Treasury had "badly misrepresented" it.

Patrick Dunleavy, a professor of politics at the London School of Economics (LSE), says that when Treasury officials used his research to calculate the start-up costs of independence, they overstated the figure by 12 times.

Officials had previously briefed that, partly based on the research of Professor Dunleavy, they estimated the start-up costs for an independent Scottish Government at £2.7bn - although this was not the figure used by Mr Alexander in his speech.

Professor Dunleavy wrote on Twitter: "UK Treasury press release on Scotland costs of government badly misrepresents LSE research.

"Appears to take minimum Whitehall reorganisation cost of £15m and multiply by 180 agencies to get £2.7bn. Overstates maybe 12 times?"

14.44 | 0 komentar | Read More

Online Abuse: Police Deal With Thousands Of Kids

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

Almost 2,000 children have been investigated by police in the last three years for breaking laws used to crack down on social media abuse, offensive Twitter messages and online bullying, Sky News has learned.

New figures show children as young as nine are among more than 1,200 who have then been charged with a criminal offence or given a caution, warning or fine.

The Sky News investigation also found almost 20,000 adults were the subject of police probes for these offences, the equivalent of around 20 cases a day.

And the number of cases is on the rise - up more than 5% since 2011.

The figures, obtained through Freedom of Information requests, lay bare for the first time how policing the internet has become a daily task for Britain's forces.

And as 18 of the UK's police forces failed to provide figures, the true number of investigations is likely to be much greater.

They include a series of high-profile prosecutions in recent years of people accused of posting abuse on Twitter.

Ellie, a teenage victim of online harassment who reported her case to police, told Sky News she thought the figures were "shocking".

She said she suffered death threats and comments about her family on social media.

"They stalked me and knew a lot about me," she said.

Many of the cases relate to messages posted on Twitter

"I drove at the time and where I used to live there's a little bridge. And within hours of driving over it, there was a comment saying you should have crashed your car over the bridge you drove over.

"With bullying that happens at school, people can get away from it at home. For me, this literally followed me everywhere I went."

Sky News asked police forces how many investigations they had launched in the last three years under Section 127 of the 2003 Communications Act, which covers abuse on Twitter or other social media sites, in text messages or through nuisance phone calls.

New guidance issued last year raised the threshold for prosecution, but experts say the rise in the number of cases despite the stricter definition is the result of easy internet access via smartphones.

According to responses from 34 police forces, 6,919 people were investigated in 2011/12 under Section 127, including 744 children.

In 2012/13, 6,974 cases were probed including 578 under-18s. After the first nine months of 2013/14, those figures had already hit 7,318 and 610 respectively.

Over the three years, 1,932 children were investigated and 1,203 were either charged with a criminal offence, fined, cautioned or warned verbally. Of the 19,279 adults investigated over that period, 11,292 were subject to police action.

Hertfordshire Police investigated and charged the most people in 2013 - 1,042, up from 291 in 2011. The Metropolitan Police had the highest three-year figure, 2,099.

Four 10-year-olds and one nine-year-old in Tayside were given warnings by police.

Luke Roberts, a social network expert at Beat Bullying, told Sky News: "There are more devices than ever. So whether it's smartphones, internet-connected TVs, more apps - they allow more young people to be harassed than ever before.

"In terms of social networking, we'd like to see more transparency, in terms of giving clear reporting mechanisms to children."

Parenting expert Erika Brodnock told Sky News: "This will continue to be an issue until we equip children with the skills to navigate the digital world and to be resilient to bullying.

"Online activity should be treated exactly the same as offline – parents shouldn't allow their children to play unsupervised on the internet."

While the number of children being investigated for online abuse is rising, the proportion of children using social networks is falling.

According to Ofcom research, 35% of 5-15 year olds have an active social networking profile – down from 42% in 2011 and 43% in 2012.

Meanwhile two thirds of adults have a social networking profile – a figure unchanged since 2012, according to Ofcom.

14.44 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lost Yachtsman Was Fulfilling Lifelong Dream

The familiies of lost Cheeki Rafiki sailors Paul Goslin and James Male have paid tribute to their loved ones.

James Male's family say sailing was a way of life he really loved

Mr Goslin, 56, from West Camel, Somerset, and Mr Male, 23, from Southampton, were on the yacht with Andrew Bridge, 22, and Steve Warren, 52, when it went missing enroute from Antigua to the UK on May 15.

The upturned 40ft yacht was found by the US Navy on Friday 1,000 miles from the Massachusetts coast, with no signs of life and its life raft still stored on board.

In a statement issued through the Foreign Office, the Goslin family said: "As you can imagine we were deeply saddened by the news on Friday night and are struggling to come to terms with the fact that Paul, our wonderful husband, son, father, grandfather, won't be found alive and returned home to us. 

"Paul was deeply loving and exceptionally intelligent and we know will be missed by everyone that knew him.

"Paul had been a passionate sailor for many years and loved everything to do with the water.  He'd been talking about sailing across the Atlantic for many years. 

The overturned hull of Cheeki Rafiki. Pic: US Coast Guard District 1

"We are therefore, trying to take some comfort in the knowledge that he was fulfilling one of his lifelong dreams."

Mr Male's family said in a statement that they were "deeply saddened" by Friday's developments.

They added: "James was a passionate sailor, surfer, kayaker and all round water sport enthusiast as well as being a keen snowboarder and outdoor instructor. 

"He loved being in the outdoors and on the water teaching new skills to people. We must therefore try to take some comfort in the knowledge that he was doing something he really loved."

The yacht Cheeki Rafiki

Both families thanked all those who had supported them during a difficult week, adding that they had drawn strength from the other families. 

They also thanked those involved in the search "especially the US and Canadian Coast Guards, the US Navy, the RAF, the merchant vessels and smaller yachts sailing through the area". 

The UK Government, especially the Foreign Office, was also praised for support that was "second to none".

Thanking the media as well, each family asked for the space and time to remember Paul and James.

Andrew Bridge was the skipper of Cheeki Rafiki

The family of the yacht skipper, Mr Bridge, from Farnham, Surrey, also thanked the search teams and paid tribute to the experienced sailor.

In a statement yesterday they said: "Andrew will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the families of the rest of the crew on the Cheeki Rafiki.

The family of Mr Warren, from Bridgwater, Somerset, said yesterday: "From the beginning we, together with the other families involved, have continued to hold out hope that he would be found alive. The US Coast Guard have led an exceptional search.

"This is now an incredibly difficult time for all the family."

Related Stories

Tragic Sailors: Skipper 'Dearly Missed'

US Navy Finds Hull Of Missing British Yacht

Missing Yachtsmen Search: Floating Debris Found

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

Second Prisoner Goes On Run From Same Jail

A prisoner has gone on the run from a Suffolk jail - less than 48 hours since another man absconded from the same facility.

Police issued an appeal after they were contacted by officials at Hollesley Bay prison, who informed them Lewis Powter was no longer at the premises.

The 30-year-old - who has a Dennis the Menace tattoo on his right arm -  was last seen at 6.50pm on Sunday and was not present for the 8pm roll check.

Paul Oddysses absconded from Hollesley Bay prison on Saturday

He was serving an indeterminate sentence for grievous bodily harm with intent, and is described as white, around 5ft 10ins, of medium build, clean-shaven with brown hair and blue eyes.

The last time Powter was seen he was wearing a blue jumper with a white T-shirt underneath, blue jeans and white Ralph Lauren trainers.

Police say he has connections in the Cambridgeshire area.

It comes after Hollesley Bay contacted Suffolk Police just after 1pm on Saturday reporting that 49-year-old Paul Oddysses had left the premises.

Oddysses, who was serving a life sentence for attempted robbery and robbery with a firearm, is described as white, around 5ft 6ins, of thin build, with brown hair, brown eyes and clean-shaven.

After Oddysses' disappearance, a Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "The Justice Secretary has been clear that keeping the public safe is our priority and has ordered immediate and major changes to tighten up temporary release processes and open prison eligibility.

"Absconds have reached record lows under this Government - down 80% over the last 10 years - but each and every incident is taken seriously, with the police contacted as a matter of urgency.

"Open prisons and temporary licence are an important tool in rehabilitating long term offenders but not at the expense of public safety."

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Murder Probe' As Briton Found Dead In Bali

A British woman who was found dead on the Indonesian island of Bali may have been murdered, according to reports.

The victim has been named locally as Anne-Marie Drozdz, who was believed to be in her forties.

Her body was found on Thursday afternoon inside a villa in the town of Ubud, a popular tourist destination.

Reports said she had been renting the property since May 17.

The villa where Ms Drozdz's body was discovered

Indonesian police suspect the woman may have been murdered, according to news reports.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office would not confirm this, but said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in Bali and are providing consular assistance to the family."

The Jakarta Post said the body was taken to Sanglah Central Hospital, 14 miles away in the island's capital Denpasar, where an external examination found she had been dead for several hours by the time her body was discovered.

A murder investigation has been launched

A police spokesman told the AFP news agency there were signs the rented villa had been broken into.

He said: "The door was damaged and there were dried up pools of blood on the floor.

"She was found by the owner of the villa lying dead on the floor with a black cloth over her face."

Ms Drozdz had been renting the villa since May 17, reports say

The head of forensics at Sanglah Central Hospital, Ida Bagus Putu Alitin, told AFP that the body showed bruises on the neck and around the mouth.

"But we will wait until permission from her family and police to carry out an autopsy," he said.

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More

Big Tweet For Missing Children Gets Under Way

By Gerard Tubb, Sky News Correspondent

Campaigners are hoping to reunite missing children with their families by recruiting social media users to join a day of action today.

It is estimated that 140,000 children and young people go missing in the UK every year according to the charity Missing People.

The Big Tweet for Missing Children will see a different child's appeal and photograph posted on Twitter every 30 minutes today under the hashtag #bigtweet.

With the help of TV personalities including Stephen Fry, organisers hope to improve on the 58,000 retweets they achieved last year which are believed to have resulted in at least two missing children being found.

An extension to the Child Rescue Alert system has also become operational, using text and email to send messages about missing children whose lives are believed to be at immediate risk.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) which issues six to eight alerts each year, hopes a million people will sign up though its website to receive them.

Coral Jones with her daughter April who was abducted in 2012

The new service has been welcomed by Coral Jones, the mother of April Jones whose abduction from her home town of Machynlleth, Powys, in October 2012 triggered one of the alerts.

"You don't know what's around the corner, it could be your child next," she said.

"I think everyone should sign up because you never know what will happen where you are."

Only a small fraction of missing children are known to have been taken by someone, with police statistics from 2011/12 showing 675 children and young people were the victim of an abduction or attempted abduction.

In most cases the perpetrator was a parent (17%) or someone the youngster knew but was not related to (35%), but 42% of incidents involved strangers.

Kevin Gosden, from Doncaster, whose son Andrew went missing in 2007 aged 14 and has never been seen since, is encouraging people to support both campaigns, even if it does not result in him finding Andrew.

"If it does something to raise awareness of this issue, and it gets families to think about that and talk with their kids to be sure that they know the number for Missing People - 116 000 - then I think that also is a good thing," he said.

14.43 | 0 komentar | Read More