Arrests Over Deaths Linked To Bad Drugs Batch

Three men have been arrested by police investigating a series of suspected drugs-related deaths in Suffolk.

They were held after the recent deaths of two young men in Ipswich on Christmas Eve and New Year's Day, which are thought to be related to a "dangerous batch" of ecstasy tablets.

The death of a third man in Rendlesham is also under investigation, and it emerged on Friday that the death of a fourth man in Telford, Shropshire, was also being linked to the drugs.

The three arrested men - aged 19, 20 and 26 - are all from Ipswich and were detained on Friday on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.

The drugs linked to the deaths in Suffolk have been described as red and triangular with a Superman 'S' logo.

John Hocking, 20, was a labourer

Police in Shropshire said they were not officially linking the death of the 27-year-old man in Telford on New Year's Day with the fatalities in Suffolk, but admitted there "appear to be similarities".

One of the men thought to have died from taking an ecstasy pill linked to the "dangerous" Suffolk batch has been named as 20-year-old labourer John Hocking.

The girlfriend of another man, Lithuanian Gediminas Kulokas, has told how she fought to save his life after he stopped breathing on New Year's Day, his 24th birthday.

Natasha Mumby told how she had checked on him in their lounge during the night and found him "breathing in a funny way" at the flat they shared in Provan Court, Ipswich.

"I propped him up and went back to bed. I then came back in the lounge because he was not making the breathing noise any more. He was just sitting there not breathing."

Another man from the same address, also thought to be from Lithuania, was in hospital in a serious condition, but is said to be "improving".

Justas Ropas was found dead at a house in Ipswich on Christmas Eve

The death of the third man, Justas Ropas, in Ipswich on 24 December could also be linked to the drug, according to officers.

Mr Ropas was a 22-year-old machine operator.

Suffolk Police have drawn a link between these latest drugs and dangerous pills with a similar appearance found in the Netherlands last month.

The tablets in the Netherlands had a large concentration of PMMA, which acts more slowly than ecstasy's MDMA.

This means people take more pills because they think they are not working.

Following the three deaths in Suffolk, police appealed for people to hand the drugs in at a police station, A&E department or fire station.

Officers promised those surrendering the drugs would not face prosecution and that they simply wanted to remove them from circulation.

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Palace Denies Prince Andrew Sex Claims

Buckingham Palace has issued a strongly worded denial of allegations that Prince Andrew was involved in "impropriety with underage minors".

The statement was released after the Duke of York was named in a US lawsuit.

The woman who has made the allegations claims the disgraced US banker Jeffrey Epstein loaned her out to his friends, including Prince Andrew.

Papers filed by her lawyers say she was held as a "sex slave" by Epstein from 1999 through 2002 after he "became enamoured" with her.

In the motion filed in a court in Florida, she claims she was "forced to have sexual relations with this prince when she was a minor" in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island. She is believed to have been 17 at the time - underage according to US law.

The document continues: "Epstein instructed Jane Doe #3 that she was to give the Prince whatever he demanded and required Jane Doe #3 to report back to him on the details of the sexual abuse."

Epstein spent 13 months in jail after admitting sex with a 14-year-old

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous and is referred to as Jane Doe 3 in documents, says Epstein, who has been jailed for having sex with a 14-year-old, forced her to have sexual encounters against her will between 1999 and 2002.

In the papers, she claims she was effectively recruited for Epstein's use by Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of the late media tycoon Robert Maxwell, when she was 15 years old.

And it is claimed in the court document that Ms Maxwell "was one of the main women whom Epstein used to procure under-aged girls for sexual activities".

The document also claims Epstein's "purposes in 'lending' Jane Doe to such powerful people were to ingratiate himself with them for business, personal, political and financial gain, as well as to obtain potential blackmail information".

Buckingham Palace said: "This relates to long-standing and ongoing civil proceedings in the United States, to which the Duke of York is not a party. As such we would not comment in detail. However, for the avoidance of doubt, any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue."

Prince Andrew's friendship with Epstein is well-documented and in an interview in 2011 he denied any sexual contact with any of the young women connected to the multi-millionaire banker.

The Prince visited Epstein in New York in 2010 after he was released

Sky News Correspondent Rhiannon Mills said: "It's important to point out that we have in the past seen Prince Andrew criticised for spending time with Epstein, including in December 2010 after he was released from prison."

Epstein was jailed in 2008 and spent 13 months in jail after admitting to having sex with a 14-year-old.

He had been investigated for paying underage girls to have sex with him at his luxury Palm Beach home - and 40 women had come forward as victims.

However, he cut a deal with federal prosecutors and the charges were not progressed.

Two of his victims have now brought a case against the prosecutors claiming their rights were violated because they were not consulted on the secret deal.

Jane Doe 3 has applied to the court to be included in the lawsuit against the federal prosecutor and it is in the legal document to join the case that she makes the allegations against the Duke of York.

Sky News has attempted to reach Ms Maxwell for a response to the latest allegations.

When claims about the nature of her relationship with Epstein were reported in 2011, her lawyers issued a statement describing them as "entirely false".

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Hospital Calls To Police 'A Major Problem'

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

There are calls for drunks and others who commit offences on NHS premises to be dealt with more severely after a Sky News investigation found the police are being called about crimes every 10 minutes.

Figures show officers deal with more than 60,000 crimes in hospitals across the UK every year - and the number has risen in the last 12 months.

The number of offences is so high that several police forces, including Greater Manchester and Lancashire, have started basing liaison officers at some of the busier A&E departments.

Hospital staff deal with a drunken patient

The true scale of the problem is likely to be much higher as the figures only represent two-thirds of Britain's police forces and do not include the biggest, the Metropolitan Police.

A total of 30 forces responded to a Freedom of Information request from Sky News, which shows they attended 64,728 calls to hospitals and other NHS premises in 2013 - a rise of almost 1,700 on the previous year. 

Greater Manchester Police attended 12,726 incidents on NHS premises last year - an increase of 320 on the year before.

Officers in another of the UK's larger forces, West Midlands, attended 7,132 calls to hospitals and other health premises in 2013 - up 249 on the 2012 figure.

Police chiefs are warning that those who threaten or assault NHS staff will be dealt with robustly.

Dr Peter Carter: 'It's a major national probem'

Northampton Police Chief Constable Adrian Lee, the national lead on alcohol harm reduction at the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), told Sky News that many of the incidents are drink-related.

He said: "There was a time when NHS staff, through good motivations and a sense of vocation, didn't want to report crimes against people who were there to receive the service, but actually that's not appropriate because it gets the message across that you can go to a hospital and behave inappropriately - well you can't."

Latest Health Service figures in England also point to worsening safety for hospital staff.

NHS Protect say that in the period 2013-2014, 68,683 members of staff were assaulted, a rise of almost 5,500 on the previous 12 months.

Some forces are to trial 'drunk tanks' like this one in London

Royal College of Nursing chief executive Dr Peter Carter has called for a tougher approach from both the police and hospital trusts towards offenders.

He said: "Against 68,000 reported assaults last year, there were just 1,600 prosecutions. That's lamentable. This is a major national problem and something needs to be done about it."

As well as stationing officers in A&E units, some forces are also beginning trials of special "drunk tanks" as a way of keeping potentially disruptive patients with more minor ailments out of emergency departments.

Chief Constable Lee, who is overseeing the pilot for ACPO, said: "These facilities don't just help reduce the demand on A&E departments at peak times, but can also have an impact on the atmosphere in emergency departments.

"A long wait in A&E because other people are more seriously injured is one thing, but a long wait surrounded by people who are behaving badly because they are drunk is a completely different experience."

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Police Make Appeal Over Christmas Eve Murder

Police have launched a murder investigation after the body of a 51-year-old man was found in Bath city centre on Christmas Eve.

A member of the public discovered Thomas Downey under a railway arch on Lower Bristol Road, near Bath railway station just after 1.30pm on Wednesday.

The area was cordoned off and a detailed search of the area continues.

A post mortem examination has been carried out and confirmed that Mr Downey died from significant head injuries.

His family have travelled down from Manchester and are helping investigating officers with the inquiry.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "They are being supported by a police family liaison officer and our thoughts are with them at this sad time."

Mr Downey is known locally as "Manchester Tommy".

Officers have urged anyone with information to share it with police to help them piece together what happened on Christmas Eve.

Two men in their thirties have been arrested on suspicion of murder and continue to be questioned.

The spokesman added: "The neighbourhood policing team are working with the local community to provide support and reassurance and to assist with the investigation.

"However, we are still keen to speak to anyone who was in the area near to the station in Lower Bristol Road around lunchtime on Christmas Eve.

"We believe the area would have been busy with shoppers and people leaving work early."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Crime Investigation Team on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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King's Cross Station Hit By More Problems

London's King's Cross station was hit by more problems today as an investigation was launched into disruption caused by overrunning engineering work.

A number of trains out of King's Cross were cancelled and other services delayed after a signalling failure this afternoon.

The failure meant that some Great Northern services from the station were cancelled, while incoming trains ended their journeys at Finsbury Park.  

A Great Northern spokeswoman said: "At approximately 13.30 this afternoon signalling problems were experienced in the Finsbury Park area, resulting in no trains being able to run in and out of London King's Cross.

"Several trains terminated at Finsbury Park and Welwyn Garden City. Rail replacement buses were organised for passengers to transport them across to the Thameslink route, where ticket acceptance was in place.

Video: Probe Launched Into Travel Chaos

"Signalling was restored at 14.15. Customers may have been affected by residual delays of up to 60 minutes whilst the service recovered.

"We would like to apologise for any inconvenience that Great Northern's customers may have experienced."

Today's problems follow major disruption yesterday when King's Cross and Paddington stations were closed because engineering works ran over schedule.

Both stations have since reopened and services from Paddington were running as planned, a Network Rail spokeswoman said. 

Network Rail's Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations, apologised for yesterday's disruption which led to extra police being brought in to control crowds.

"I'm deeply sorry for the delays, upset and upheaval caused... to passengers impacted by our overrunning improvement work outside King's Cross," he said.

"We've had an army of 11,000 engineers out over Christmas Day and Boxing Day at 2,000 locations nationwide.

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1. Gallery: Travel Chaos Hits London

This was the scene at Finsbury Park station

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Tycoon's Fall On To Railings 'Not Suspicious'

A bankrupt property tycoon whose body was found impaled on railings did not die in suspicious circumstances, a coroner has said.

Scot Young was discovered in what was described as a "grisly" and "brutal" scene following his death in Marylebone, central London, on December 8.

The 52-year-old had been jailed during a  public divorce row over a multimillion-pound settlement because he would not reveal financial records.

After his fatal fall, friends of Mr Young came forward with concerns about a potential "ring of death" in his inner circle - saying four of his reported close friends had died in a similar way.

They pointed out Johnny Elichaoff, Boris Berezovsky, Robert Curtis and Paul Castle all appear to have killed themselves after suffering financial setbacks over the past four years.

But opening the inquest into Mr Young's death, Westminster assistant coroner Angela Hodes said there were no suspicious circumstances.

She said his body was identified by brother-in-law Guy van Ristell, with details supplied to the police by his daughter Sasha.

No members of Mr Young's family or friends were present at the hearing, which was adjourned until January 12.

Speaking after his death, his 30-year-old American model girlfriend, Noelle Reno one of the stars of the Ladies Of London reality TV show, said she was "distraught by the sudden loss of my best friend" and wanted to "grieve in peace".

Mr Young had been locked in a long-running legal battle with his ex-wife Michelle, 50, with whom he had two daughters.

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Northern Ireland Parties Hail Agreement

Northern Ireland's political parties have reached agreement on a range of issues that had threatened the devolved government's future.

The "Stormont House Agreement", which has been forged after weeks of talks, has resolved wrangles over the budget and welfare reforms and established new structures to deal with the legacy of unsolved killings during the Troubles.

An Independent Commission on Information Retrieval will help the bereaved and injured obtain information about events during the conflict.

The First and Deputy First Ministers will also bring forward proposals to deal with parades after the General Election, while a commission will be set up to address the issue of flags.

The agreement paves the way for corporation tax powers to be devolved to Belfast as well, after Chancellor George Osborne said he would do so, provided there was progress at the talks.

Prime Minister David Cameron has also agreed to lend the devolved government £2bn to address a shortfall, after Stormont agreed to cushion welfare reform from its own budget.

Mr Cameron said: "I am delighted that a workable agreement has been reached that can allow Northern Ireland to enjoy a brighter, more prosperous future, while at the same time finally being able to deal with its past.

"This historic agreement has been long in the making and I would also like to pay tribute to all those involved - the Northern Ireland parties, the UK and Irish governments and Senator Hart - for getting us to this position.

"We will now all work collaboratively to see this through. The people of Northern Ireland deserve nothing less."

First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson said the deal acknowledged that further work was needed.

"Of course every one of us would have liked to have had a more comprehensive and complete agreement but this is as much and more than we have ever been able to do on these issues in the past," he said.

"So it is a very significant agreement."

Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the "remarkable agreement" had the potential to give the Executive a "fresh start".

"And it is a fresh start we need to seize with both hands," he said, flanked by party leader Gerry Adams.

Irish foreign affairs minister Charlie Flanagan, who was involved in negotiations, said: "Today we are building on the hard-won peace on this island with a new agreement which aims to further reconciliation and foster economic growth."

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Glasgow Crash: Witnesses Tell Of Screams

Horrified witnesses have been telling of the moment a bin lorry careered along a Glasgow street, fatally crashing into pedestrians.

At least six people died in the tragedy in George Square in the centre of the city.

One woman, Melanie Greig, told Sky News of "the noise, the bangs and the screams".

She said the lorry "lost control" and was "knocking everyone like pinballs" as it travelled along the pavement.

Dozens of people have needed treatment

She said: "It continued knocking people down until it ended up in the building. Quite horrific. Very scary."

The vehicle stopped when it struck the Millennium Hotel after travelling on the pavement for what was thought to be about 300 metres.

Video: Witness: 'I Feel Lucky To Be Alive'

Ms Greig went on: "When something is coming up behind them like that, how can they run out of the way?"

She also said there was a baby in a buggy. "There were actually two little kids. It was just horrific."

David Lyon escaped being hit by seconds, saying he moved out of the way, trying to save his girlfriend.

"It makes you appreciate life," he said.

Video: 'Chaos And Shock' At Glasgow Crash

Mr Lyon said: "I quite literally moved out the way of a moving truck. I feel quite lucky to be alive.

"l moved out of the way as it was crashing into people. It's traumatic. It was quite chaotic. Everybody was in a panic. It was really disturbing."

And another man, who said the lorry was travelling at speed, said: "It was very traumatic for a lot of people."

Shopper Lauren Gilmore was nearby when the incident happened.

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1. Gallery: Pictures From The Crash Scene

   Emergency services at the scene of the crash

The rubbish lorry crashed through shoppers in Glasgow before hitting the Millennium Hotel in St George Square. Pic: Radio Clyde

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Police Investigate Deadly Bin Lorry Crash

Police in Glasgow are investigating why a bin lorry crashed into a crowd of Christmas shoppers in the city centre killing six people.

The truck mounted the pavement outside the Gallery of Modern Art - hitting a group of people waiting to cross the road - carrying on for another 300 metres until it crashed into the Millennium Hotel.

The driver, who was said to be lucid when the vehicle finally stopped, was taken to hospital after the tragedy and it is believed he may have fallen ill at the wheel.

"We heard from eyewitnesses saying he wasn't looking around as the lorry was going across the pavement. He appeared to be slumped over the wheel," Sky's Gerard Tubb, reporting from Glasgow, said.

Seven other people are also being treated for their injuries in three hospitals in Glasgow. 

Video: Aftermath Of The Crash

Chief Inspector Mark Sutherland from Police Scotland said on Monday night: "We are currently working with our other agencies to establish exactly what happened.

"It's important that we do a thorough investigation to establish the full circumstances.

"It's important that we take all the necessary steps to do it as quickly as we can so that we get the answers for the families and get their loved ones back to them as quick as we can."

Video: Witness: Lorry Knocked People Down

Police Scotland has appealed to anyone who has photos or videos of the incident to send it to them at georgesquareincident@scotland.pnn.police.uk.

Roads around George Square, which was packed at the time of the accident, remain closed.

A large cordon remains in place and dozens of floral tributes have been placed at the scene.

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1. Gallery: Images From The Devastating Scene In Glasgow After Bin Lorry Crash

   The lorry crashed into the Millennium Hotel at the top of Queen Street in the city centre

One police officer said it first mounted the pavement 300 metres down the street

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Plan Could Double Ambulance Waiting Times

Some people who need an ambulance may soon have to wait longer for it to arrive even if they are classed as a serious case under new proposals.

In a letter seen by Sky News, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives suggests the target time to get to patients suffering a range of "serious but not the most life-threatening" problems, including strokes and seizures, could be increased to 19 minutes.

The current target for an emergency vehicle to reach people in life-threatening situations is eight minutes.

According to the memo, NHS England says there will be no changes to response times where patients have "immediately life threatening" conditions such as cardiac arrest, choking and major bleeding - known as Red 1 calls.

In these instances, a "fast response" car is often sent ahead of a fully-crewed ambulance to meet the time limit.

Video: A&E Waiting Times: The Figures

For serious cases like stroke and fits - Red 2 calls - there will be an extra three minutes added on to the response time.

But a proportion of Red 2s will have the eight-minute target scrapped in favour of a 19-minute one for a full ambulance crew to be sent on its own.

Andy Burnham, Labour's shadow health secretary, said: "This has all the hallmarks of a panic move and suggests Jeremy Hunt's only solution to the A&E crisis is to give up and move the goalposts.

"Rather than getting ambulance response times back up to established standards, it looks like he is running up the white flag. The situation in the NHS is now serious and Jeremy Hunt is failing to provide the leadership it desperately needs.

"While there may be a case for reviewing these rules, this is not the way to do it. It is nothing short of dangerous to make a snap decision at the start of the most difficult winter in the NHS for years.

"Hunt's decision risks leaving thousands of seriously ill people waiting longer for ambulances this winter. The Health Secretary needs to provide urgent reassurance that this change can be safely made and won't put lives at risks."

But a Department of Health spokesman insisted: "No decisions have been made, and the Secretary of State would only agree to proposed changes that improve response times for urgent cases."

He added: "We have given ambulances an extra £50m this winter to ensure the service remains sustainable and the Secretary of State agreed that NHS England should investigate a proposal from the ambulance services themselves to see whether the service they offer the public could be improved."

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