Exercise To Test Britain's Readiness For Ebola

A national exercise will be held to test Britain's readiness for an ebola outbreak, with actors simulating symptoms of the deadly virus.

Government ministers will join dozens of medical professionals, some of whom will wear protective equipment, for the eight-hour drill in locations across the country.

A simulated meeting of the Government's COBRA emergency committee will also be held, chaired by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Meanwhile, aid ship RFA Argus, which is to be sent to Sierra Leone next week to help fight the outbreak, has arrived in Falmouth, Cornwall, to be loaded with medical supplies before being deployed to West Africa.

The exercise was ordered by David Cameron as part of the UK's contingency plan against ebola, which has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa.

It comes after the Prime Minister was forced to defend the decision to introduce enhanced screening for the virus at major points of entry, saying it had been taken on "medical advice".

Video: Hospital Staff Throw Gloves At PM

Questions have been raised about the checks, with a spokesman for Gatwick saying the airport had not been given any instructions about how the screening should be carried out.

The move was also criticised by health experts, with one describing it as a "complete waste of time", while Labour MP Keith Vaz said the lack of precise information was "shambolic".

Mr Cameron said: "What we do is listen to the medical advice and we act on that advice, and that's why we are introducing the screening processes at the appropriate ports and airports.

Video: Ebola Screening Coming To The UK

"What we are focusing on as a country is taking action right across the board to deal with this problem at source."

The Department of Health has said it will provide further details about ebola screenings at Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Eurostar terminals next week.

The department has not revealed the locations of the national exercise, although a spokeswoman said it has been planning its response to an ebola case in the UK "for many months now".

Video: Ebola Crisis: On The Front Line

"It is vital that we test these plans in as realistic a situation as possible - with real people," she said.

As well as ministers these will include hospital staff, the ambulance service and Public Health England.

The spokeswoman added: "It is important to remember that the overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low.

Video: How Doctors Should Deal With Ebola

"The UK has some of the best public health protection systems in the world with well-developed and well-tested systems for managing infectious disease."

:: Watch a special Sky News programme on the ebola crisis at 3.30pm today and 3.30pm on Sunday - available on skynews.com, Sky News for iPad and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

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Johnson Warns Of 'Thousands Of Terror Suspects'

London Mayor Boris Johnson has revealed that thousands of terror suspects are being spied on every day by UK security services.

He said the number of suspects in London alone is said to be in the "low thousands", suggesting the threat from home-grown terrorism may be far more widespread than that from Syria or Iraq.

Mr Johnson told the Daily Telegraph: "In London we're very very vigilant and very very concerned. Every day - as you saw recently, we had to raise the threat level - every day the security services are involved in thousands of operations.

"There are probably in the low thousands of people that we are monitoring in London."

Until now the main threat was thought to come from about 500 suspected jihadists who went to Syria or Iraq from the UK to join Islamic State militants.

Video: Arrests May Have Foiled Terror Plot

Speaking about IS, Mr Johnson said: "London has a particular concern, because probably of the five or six hundred that are out there, we think a third, maybe more - maybe half - come from the London area.

"If and when they come back, we have a real job to deal with them."

It comes as police chiefs also issued a warning to officers to increase vigilance in the face of a heightened terror threat for officers and five men were being held by Scotland Yard suspected of plotting a potentially "significant" attack on the UK.

Video: Nick Clegg On Terror Threat

Meanwhile, in an interview with the same newspaper, Iain Lobban, director of intelligence agency GCHQ, hinted it now took three times longer to trace terrorists online in the wake of disclosures made by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

And he said sharing intelligence with a greater number of nations was necessary.

"It's nonsense not to share with the French. This is not Blitz Britain. We sure as hell can't lick terrorism on our own," Mr Lobban said.

Video: British Girl Heads To Islamic State

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Man Dies After Being Hit By Falling Masonry

A 61-year-old man has died after he was hit by bricks falling from a building during stormy conditions.

The masonry came off a building in Cliff Street, in the seaside town of Bridlington, East Yorkshire, and struck the victim and a parked vehicle on Monday afternoon.

A police spokesman said the area would remain sealed off until checks on the building are completed.

The force said it was too early to say whether the stormy weather caused the bricks to collapse.

Sky News weather producer Rebecca Yussuf said rain in the area was accompanied by gale-force winds at around the time the tragedy happened at 1pm.

She said: "Mean wind speeds reached 34mph, with gusts of 48mph."

Gusts reached up to 48mph in Bridlington at around 1pm on Monday

The first storm of the autumn swept across the country on Monday.

Gale force winds reached 84mph overnight on South Uist in the Western Isles, damaging power lines.

Northern Ireland Electricity said around 6,000 customers lost power overnight, while some 6,500 homes were hit with blackouts in the Republic, with the vast majority reconnected by the evening.

Around 2,000 homes were affected in Workington, Cumbria, with most having supply restored within an hour.

Heavy rain and strong winds are expected to move north overnight, with gusts expected to reach 70mph in the most exposed areas on Tuesday.

An elderly man trapped on an island at Marykirk on the River Esk in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, was rescued by a sled boat as heavy rain saw water levels rise rapidly.

Three anglers stranded on an island between St Cyrus and Montrose were airlifted to safety by a helicopter from RAF Boulmer.

Flood warnings were in place in Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee and Angus and Tayside, and flood alerts for Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen city, Caithness and Sutherland, Easter Ross, Speyside, Orkney and Shetland.

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Alice Gross Murder: Suspect's Body Identified

Police have formally identified a decomposed body found in west London as that of Alice Gross murder suspect Arnis Zalkalns.

A post-mortem examination of the body, which was discovered in Boston Manor Park on Saturday, has now been completed.

Scotland Yard say the body is that of the 41-year-old Latvian builder who emerged as the prime suspect in the schoolgirl's death.

The cause of death is consistent with hanging and there is no evidence of any third party involvement, police added.

Zalkalns vanished from his flat in Ealing on 4 September, a week after Alice is thought to have been abducted and murdered while walking home along a canal towpath in Hanwell.

Alice was found dead in the River Brent on Tuesday after a five-week search. Zalkalns was filmed cycling along the same route behind Alice on the day she went missing.

Alice's body was found about a mile away from Zalkalns' remains

He worked at a building site in Isleworth, west London, and is thought to have come to the UK in 2007.

Authorities have faced criticism for apparently holding no record of his conviction for bludgeoning and stabbing his wife Rudite to death in Latvia.

Video: Alice: Body Found In Suspect Hunt

During the investigation it also emerged Zalkalns was arrested in London on suspicion of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2009, but was never charged.

A post-mortem examination on Alice was inconclusive and further tests are to be carried out to find out how she died.

Police said "significant efforts" were taken to conceal her body in the water.

Video: CCTV Footage Shows Alice Suspect

Zalkalns had not accessed his bank account or used his mobile phone since 3 September, nor had he returned home to his partner and young child in Ealing. He also left behind his passport.

Scotland Yard has said that although Zalkalns had been identified as a suspect in the murder investigation, inquiries continue to establish the full circumstances surrounding the crime.

A spokesman said: "Officers are still searching for evidence, and once again appeal to the public for any information that could assist them. Anyone with any information is asked to contact us on 020 8358 0100."

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Alice Murder: Tests On Body Found In Park

A post-mortem is due to take place today on a body believed to be that of the man wanted for the murder of 14-year-old Alice Gross.

It is understood that Arnis Zalkalns was found hanged on Saturday in woods at Boston Manor Park - a mile from where the schoolgirl's body was hidden.

The badly decomposed body was taken by private ambulance to a mortuary in west London, and a post-mortem examination is scheduled for this afternoon at Fulham Mortuary.

The convicted killer vanished from his flat in Ealing on September 4 - a week after Alice is thought to have been abducted and murdered while walking home along a canal towpath in Hanwell.

Alice was found dead in the River Brent on Tuesday after a five-week search.

Video: Alice's Movements Reconstructed

Zalkalns, 41, was filmed cycling along the same route behind Alice on the day she vanished on 28 August.

His sister, Jolanta Daksa, told Sky News: "British police have not contacted me, or my brothers and sisters.

"Arnis' girlfriend, who is living in London, told me that they had found the remains and I told the other family members. Other details about what the police found we learned from the media.

"Now we are waiting for the results from the examination of the body and the police investigation.

"We want to know from police if it really is Arnis."

Video: Alice: Body Found In Suspect Hunt

The Latvian labourer worked at a building site in Isleworth, west London, and is thought to have come to the UK in 2007.

Authorities are facing criticism for apparently holding no record of his conviction for bludgeoning and stabbing his wife Rudite to death in Latvia.

It also emerged Zalkalns was arrested in London on suspicion of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2009, but was never charged.

A post-mortem examination on Alice was inconclusive and further tests are to be carried out to find out how she died.

Police said "significant efforts" were taken to conceal her body in the water.

Video: CCTV Footage Shows Alice Suspect

Zalkalns had not accessed his bank account or used his mobile phone since 3 September, nor had he returned home to his partner and young child in Ealing. He also left behind his passport.

Scotland Yard has said that though Zalkalns had been identified as a suspect in the murder investigation, inquiries continue to establish the full circumstances surrounding the crime.

A spokesman said: "Officers are still searching for evidence, and once again appeal to the public for any information that could assist them. Anyone with any information is asked to contact us on 020 8358 0100."

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Dewani In Court As Murder Trial Opens

The heartbroken father of murdered bride Anni Dewani has described his four-year wait for justice as "torture".

Vinod Hindocha, 65, said: "Since that terrible day it has been a period of torture and we have missed her each and every minute of each and every day."

Mr Hindocha was speaking after flying into Cape Town, where his 28-year-old daughter was shot dead on her honeymoon in 2010.

Anni's husband Shrien, a wealthy Bristol businessman, goes on trial for her murder this morning.

A German rent boy Leopold Leisser is expected to be a key witness, who will tell the court Shrien Dewani paid him for sex in the months leading up to the shooting and told him he regretted his engagement to Anni, but was too ashamed to back out.

Mr Hindocha said: "Now that I am back here all I ask for is the full story and justice.

"I am confident that South Africa will conduct a fair and open trial of Shrien Dewani."

Dewani was extradited to Cape Town in April after losing a three-year UK court battle in which he claimed he was mentally unfit to stand trial.

After his wife's death, he told South African police the couple were carjacked at gunpoint as they took a taxi outside the city to the Gugulethu township where Anni "wanted to see the real Africa".

He claimed he and the driver were thrown out of the vehicle before two abductors kidnapped his new wife.

Video: Murdered Bride's Family Want Truth

Her body was found in the back of the abandoned taxi the next morning.

But the driver Zola Tongo said Dewani had offered him £1,300 to arrange for his wife to be killed.

Tongo and two other local men, Xolile Mngeni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, are already serving long jail sentences for Anni's murder.

Video: Anni Dewani's Bedroom Now A Shrine

Anni's cousin Sneha is likely to be another witness, and is expected to tell the court that Anni wanted to stop her wedding, a lavish affair in Mumbai.

Anni, who was born in Sweden, met Shrien after moving to London to stay with Sneha.

As Anni's family were preparing to leave Sweden to attend the trial, her elder sister Ami, 37, told Sky News last week: "Three weeks before the wedding Anni actually threw the ring back at Shrien. She called me and said a lot of things like it wasn't working well.

Video: Sister's Shock Over Anni's Death

"I thought she was just stressed out and told her she would get over it.

"Looking back, I should have told her to break it off. If I had, maybe she would be alive today.

"It still haunts me."

Video: 'I Told Anni It Was Wedding Stress'

Unlike the murder trial of athlete Oscar Pistorius in Pretoria this year, Dewani's trial will not be televised, though cameras may be allowed in briefly to film him in the dock.

The hearing is expected to last until mid-December.

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NHS Spending On Patient Meals Hard To Swallow

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

Hospitals are spending as little as £3.68 a day providing food for patients in their care, official figures show.

A Sky News analysis of recent NHS statistics shows 18 hospitals spending £5 or less on daily patient meals.

And 177 institutions - almost half of those who supplied data - spend under £9 - the equivalent of less than £3 per meal.

On average, hospitals spend £9.66 per patient per day on food, the figures show. But there are huge variations between different NHS trusts.

The lowest amount spent was £3.68 at Livingstone Community Hospital in Dartford in Kent.

Hospitals that prepare meals on site are able to make big savings

Tonbridge Cottage Hospital and Faversham Cottage Hospital, also both in Kent, spent £3.70 and £3.88 per patient per day respectively.

A spokesman for Livingstone said the costs were low because it bought food in without the need to maintain staff and kitchens to prepare it.

Video: Hospital Food Shake-Up Announced

The highest reported spending was £31 at Broadgreen Hospital in Liverpool.

However, a spokesman said average costs were higher than usual because it included staff costs and they had to cater for more patients than they ended up admitting.

The figures also show that 52 hospital do not provide fresh fruit to their patients and 16 have not had their menus checked by a dietician.

At Nottingham University Hospitals, 15% of the ingredients are organic, meat comes from local farms and every meal is cooked from scratch. Yet the food bill is still below average at £8.67 a day.

John Hughes, catering manager for Carillion which operates the kitchen, said voluntary nutritional standards on hospital meals should be mandatory.

He told Sky News: "You have somebody providing a soup and a sandwich and calling it a meal and somebody providing a four-course dinner and calling it a meal.

"I am disappointed and worried there is still no minimum standard.

"We have very high standards here. We operate to a very reasonable cost, so cost is not a barrier.

"It comes down to a political decision - do we care enough?"

In August, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that for the first time hospitals will have to meet legally mandated standards and inspections will evaluate the quality of the food they serve.

Alex Jackson, from Sustain's Campaign for Better Hospital Food, said more than half of hospitals now buy in chilled ready meals.

"The data shows that where hospitals are freshly preparing and cooking food on site in their own kitchens they are able to make big savings. Those meals are also often the most popular with patients.

"So what we want the Government to do is support hospitals so they can keep cooking."

How much hospitals are spending on food was revealed as part of the publication of an enormous range of data for NHS institutions for the year 2012/13.

The figures show a wide variation in staffing, spending and procedures.

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of NHS England, said the website "allows people to hold us to account."

"Overall, what this wealth of published data suggests is an encouraging picture," he added.

"Despite having received little increase in funding over recent years, the NHS continues to provide high quality care, often to the highest standards in the world."

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British Teacher Held Hostage In Libya Freed

A British teacher who was being held hostage by militants in Libya has been released and reunited with his family.

David Bolam, who worked at the International School in Benghazi, was abducted earlier this year.

His kidnapping had not been reported at the request of his family and the Foreign Office.

Although it has not been officially confirmed who his captors were, a group calling itself the Army of Islam, a faction in Libya, released an online video of Mr Bolam dated 28 August pleading for his release.

The 53-second video showed him sitting in a room wearing a white T-shirt.

In it, he said: "My name is David Richard Bolam. I am a British citizen. I am a teacher.

"My health is good at the moment. I have been here a very long time."

He went on to plead for Britain to arrange a prisoner exchange or other diplomatic initiative to secure his release.

The Foreign Office said: "We are glad that David Bolam is safe and well after his ordeal, and that he has been reunited with his family.

"We have been supporting his family since he was taken.

"We do not comment on the detail of hostage cases. The family have asked for privacy."

There are unconfirmed reports a ransom was paid through "unofficial channels" in exchange for Mr Bolam's release.

The Foreign Office confirmed the Government had paid no money, saying: "HMG never pays ransoms. It is illegal to pay ransoms to a terrorist group."

While several Western governments have paid money to secure the release of hostages held by militants, the UK and US governments have a policy of refusing demands for ransoms.

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