Labour in triple by-election win

30 November 2012 Last updated at 04:23 ET

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Nigel Farage: "UKIP's issues are connecting more and more with people"

Labour has won three by-elections, holding Croydon North, Middlesbrough and Rotherham parliamentary seats.

It increased its share of the vote in all three seats, but its majority was down in Rotherham, where the previous MP had quit over expenses claims.

The UK Independence Party came second in Middlesbrough and Rotherham, and finished third in Croydon North.

In Rotherham, the Lib Dems fell from third place to eighth, behind the BNP, Respect and the English Democrats.

Labour candidate Sarah Champion won in Rotherham with 9,866 votes to UKIP candidate Jane Collins' 4,648. The BNP and the Respect Party pushed the Conservatives into fifth place, while the Lib Dems lost their deposit, trailing in eighth.

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Rotherham

• Sarah Champion (Labour) 9,866 (46.25%, +1.62%)
• Jane Collins (UKIP) 4,648 (21.79%, +15.87%)
• Marlene Guest (BNP) 1,804 (8.46%, -1.96%)
• Yvonne Ridley (Respect) 1,778 (8.34%)
• Simon Wilson (Conservative) 1,157 (5.42%, -11.32%)
• David Wildgoose (English Democrat) 703 (3.30%)
• Simon Copley (Independent) 582 (2.73%, -3.58%)
• Michael Beckett (Liberal Democrat) 451 (2.11%, -13.87%)
• Ralph Dyson (TUSC) 261 (1.22%)
• Paul Dickson (Independent) 51 (0.24%)
• Clint Bristow (Independent) 29 (0.14%)
• Labour majority 5,218 (24.46%)
• 7.13% swing Labour to UKIP
• Turnout: 21,330 (33.63%, -25.37%)

In Middlesbrough, Labour's Andy McDonald, a solicitor for a trade union law firm and former Middlesbrough councillor, won with 10,201 votes to UKIP candidate Richard Elvin's 1,990.

In Croydon North, Labour's Steve Reed - currently the leader of Lambeth Council - won 15,898 votes, beating the Conservatives' Andy Stranack by 11,761. Again polling under 5%, the Liberal Democrats lost their second deposit of the night.

The Croydon North and Middlesbrough polls were triggered by the deaths of MPs Malcolm Wicks and Sir Stuart Bell.

Ms Champion, chief executive of a children's hospice, said: "Cameron's Tories have shown what they think of Rotherham, and today this result tells David Cameron what Rotherham thinks of the Tories."

The Middlesbrough Lib Dem candidate, George Selmer, came third with 1,672 votes, or nearly 10% of the vote. Ben Houchen of the Conservative Party was in fourth place on 1,063, just three votes ahead of the Peace Party's Imdad Hussain.

Labour was odds-on at the bookmakers to retain all three seats.

Attending the Rotherham count, UKIP leader Nigel Farage said it had been a "big night" for his party.

"Our previous best-ever by-election result, a fortnight ago, was 14.3% and this one is comfortably over 20%. Whichever way you look at it, UKIP is on the rise," he said.

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Croydon North

• Steve Reed (Labour) 15,898 (64.71%, +8.69%)
• Andy Stranack (Conservative) 4,137 (16.84%, -7.28%)
• Winston McKenzie (UKIP) 1,400 (5.70%, +3.97%)
• Marisha Ray (Liberal Democrat) 860 (3.50%, -10.48%)
• Shasha Islam Khan (Green) 855 (3.48%, +1.51%)
• Lee Jasper (Respect) 707 (2.88%, +2.35%)
• Stephen Hammond (Christian Peoples Alliance) 192 (0.78%)
• Richard Edmonds (National Front) 161 (0.66%)
• Ben Stevenson (Communist) 119 (0.48%, +0.17%)
• John Cartwright (Loony) 110 (0.45%)
• Simon Lane (9/11 Was an Inside Job) 66 (0.27%)
• Robin Smith (Young People's) 63 (0.26%)
• Labour majority: 11,761 (47.87%)
• 7.99% swing Conservative to Labour
• Turnout: 24,568 (26.4%, -34.25%)

UKIP's campaign in Rotherham was boosted by a row over a local couple who had their foster children removed by the Labour council because they were UKIP members.

But worries about unemployment had proven to be more important to voters than the headlines about fostering, BBC political reporter James Vincent commented.

Having not been a Labour Party member for long, Ms Champion convinced enough voters to give her a chance during a very short campaign that started with questions over whether she was the right candidate, our correspondent added.

Mr Stranack, the best performing Conservative candidate of the night, said he was disappointed to come second in Croydon North, but ousting Labour had proven to be a "big challenge".

The Conservative, who was born with cerebral palsy, added: "I would like to challenge all of the main party leaders to look at the inspiration our Paralympians bought us over the summer and take the bold decision to select more candidates with disabilities."

Respect had hoped to pull off a repeat of George Galloway's surprise victory in Bradford West in April, when he overturned a 5,000 Labour majority to romp home by 10,000, after winning over the British Asian Muslim vote.

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Middlesbrough

• Andy McDonald (Labour) 10,201 (60.48%, +14.60%)
• Richard Elvin (UKIP) 1,990 (11.80%, +8.10%)
• George Selmer (Liberal Democrat) 1,672 (9.91%, -10.00%)
• Ben Houchen (Conservative) 1,063 (6.30%, -12.48%)
• Imdad Hussain (Peace) 1,060 (6.28%)
• Peter Foreman (BNP) 328 (1.94%, -3.90%)
• John Malcolm (TUSC) 277 (1.64%)
• Mark Heslehurst (Independent) 275 (1.63%)
• Labour majority: 8,211 (48.68%)
• 3.25% swing UKIP to Lab
• Turnout: 16,866 (25.91%, -25.44%)

But Lee Jasper, the party's candidate in Croydon North and a former adviser to Ken Livingstone, won just 707 votes, placing sixth, and Yvonne Ridley, the Respect candidate in Rotherham, came fourth with 1,778 votes.

Turnout at all three contests was in the spotlight after fewer than 15% of voters cast a ballot in the first Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales - a peacetime low.

The Electoral Commission has launched an investigation into the woeful PCC turnout, which some were blaming on the dark November nights and poor weather.

Turnout in the Corby by-election, on the same day as the PCC ballot, was about 45%.

In the post-war period, the lowest Commons election turnout was 19.6% when Labour's Hilary Benn won Leeds Central in a June 1999 by-election.

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Press 'need to act' after Leveson

30 November 2012 Last updated at 05:15 ET

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David Cameron: "I'm not convinced... that statute is necessary"

The press has been urged to take action over Leveson Inquiry recommendations to regulate the newspaper industry.

Lord Justice Leveson called for a new independent watchdog - which he said should be underpinned by legislation.

Culture Secretary Maria Miller told the BBC "the gauntlet has been thrown down" to newspapers to outline how they would set up tough self-regulation instead.

But Gerry McCann, the father of missing Madeleine McCann, said the Leveson report has not "gone far enough".

Lord Justice Leveson's 2,000-page report into press ethics, published on Thursday, found that press behaviour was "outrageous" and "wreaked havoc with the lives of innocent people".

He said the press - having failed to regulate itself in the past - must create a new and tough regulator but it had to be backed by legislation to ensure it was effective.

The report exposed divisions in the coalition government, with Prime Minister David Cameron opposing statutory control, unlike his deputy Nick Clegg, who wants a new law introduced without delay.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Cameron said he broadly welcomed Lord Justice Leveson's principles to change the current system but that he had "serious concerns and misgivings" over bringing in laws to underpin any new body.

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Would:

• Create a process to "validate" the independence and effectiveness of the new self-regulation body
• Validate a new process of independent arbitration for complainants - which would benefit both the public and publishers by providing speedy resolutions
• Place a duty on government to protect the freedom of press

Would not:

• Establish a body to regulate the press directly
• Give any Parliament or government rights to interfere with what newspapers publish

Labour leader Ed Miliband has joined Mr Clegg in supporting a new press law.

Following cross-party talks on Thursday night - which will resume next week - the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will begin the process of drawing up a draft bill implementing the Leveson recommendations.

It is thought the draft legislation may be ready in a fortnight.

The prime minister believes this process will only serve to highlight how difficult it is to try to legislate in a complex and controversial area while Labour and the Lib Dems think it will demonstrate the opposite.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mrs Miller said: "Our concern is that we simply don't need to have that legislation to achieve the end of objectives and in drafting out this piece of legislation what we are going to be demonstrating is that it wouldn't be a simple two-clause bill."

She said Conservative ministers felt that legislation "would actually give the opportunity in the future to bring into question the ability of Parliament to stay out of the issue of free press and difficult for Parliament to not have a statutory framework on which they could hang further bits of legislation".

She went on: "At this point what we should be focusing in on is the fact that the gauntlet has been thrown down to the industry.

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"The press industry need to be coming back with their response to the Leveson report. Their response to how they're going to put in place a self-regulatory body that adheres to the Leveson principles and that is what I want to see moving forward swiftly."

Many of Friday's newspapers have praised Mr Cameron's opposition to law-backed regulation.

But the father of Madeline McCann - the young girl who went missing in Portugal in 2007 - said he would have liked the report to have gone further.

"Although we broadly welcome Lord [Justice] Leveson's report, and it has many merits, for me, personally, I don't think the report has actually gone far enough," said Gerry McCann.

He said: "I would have liked to have seen a properly independent regulation of the press, whereas I think he has given the press another opportunity of self-regulation."

Mr McCann, who was the subject of what he called "unbelievably damaging" newspaper reports that suggested he and his wife killed Madeline, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Full implementation of Lord [Justice] Leveson's report is the minimum acceptable compromise for me and, I think, for many other victims who have suffered at the hands of the press.

"Without statutory underpinning, this system will not work."

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Charlotte Church, speaking on Question Time: 'I agree with the Leveson report'

Meanwhile, Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman told the BBC that without a statute "guaranteeing" independent regulation, "we simply remain with the status quo - a status quo that has failed the press, because it has allowed itself to get in to a situation in which shame has been brought upon the press, and it has failed the victims, who have suffered terribly".

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said that, at the core of this disagreement, were two separate political calculations.

David Cameron thought the press would swiftly agree to tougher self-regulation which would make any new law unnecessary, allowing him to go into the next election as a champion of a free press.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, do not trust papers to clean up their own act and assume the victims of press intrusion will say they are being sold short.

Writing in the Guardian, Steve Coogan - who told the Leveson Inquiry that journalists had been going through his rubbish bins - said Mr Cameron was "playing a despicable political game - disingenuous at best, bare-faced lying at worst".

"By rejecting Leveson's call for statutory regulation, Cameron has hung the victims of crime out to dry."

He added: "Quite simply, if future regulation is not backed by statute, Leveson's report is nothing more than a large slap on the wrist."

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UK stops £21m payment to Rwanda

30 November 2012 Last updated at 05:46 ET

The UK has suspended aid to Rwanda, amid concerns about the country's role in the conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ministers said the UK would not now release a payment worth £21m.

An aid payment of £16m was paid to Rwanda in September despite question marks over its alleged support for the M23 militia in DR Congo.

The government also said it would give a further £18m for immediate humanitarian needs in the DR Congo.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the money, which was due to be handed over next month, would not be released because President Paul Kagame's regime had breached agreements.

'Credible and compelling'

It follows a controversial decision by Ms Greening's predecessor, Andrew Mitchell, to authorise payment of £16m to the country on his last day in the job in September.

Mr Mitchell, who had previously frozen aid to the country, cited progress at international talks as the reason for making the payment.

President Kagame's regime has been praised for improving the economic and social conditions in the east African country, in which it is estimated more than 800,000 people were killed in ethnic violence during 1994.

But Mr Kagame, in power since 2000, has come under fierce criticism recently for allegedly funding the M23 rebel group in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

A United Nations document says Rwanda's defence minister is effectively commanding the rebellion.

The violence has drawn international condemnation and the US and some European countries have withheld aid from the Kagame regime.

Ms Greening said: "The government has already set out its concerns over credible and compelling reports of Rwandan involvement with M23 in DRC.

"This evidence constitutes a breach of the partnership principles set out in the memorandum of Understanding, and as a result I have decided not to release the next payment of budget support to Rwanda.

"We are committed to finding lasting solutions to the conflict in this region and will work with the governments of Rwanda and DRC to secure a peaceful resolution to the situation in eastern DRC."

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Supermarkets pledge prices action

30 November 2012 Last updated at 06:04 ET

Eight supermarkets have agreed to ensure that special offers and price promotions are fair.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been investigating the way prices are displayed, advertised and promoted in stores.

It raised concerns about prices being artificially inflated to make later discounts look more attractive.

The major UK supermarkets have now agreed to adopt a set of principles drawn up by the OFT.

They are Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Aldi, the Co-op and Lidl.

Asda, which has not yet signed up, said it was considering the revised code.

In a statement Asda argued that as it aims to keep prices for customers "as low as possible for them week in week out", a code covering special offer price promotions was not relevant.

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• Product is sold at an inflated price for a limited period at low volume in just a few stores, then rolled out across all stores at the lower price - known as "yo-yo pricing"
• The "discount" price period lasts much longer than the original higher price period, making the discount price really the normal selling price
• Using a previous selling price from months ago as a comparison
• Charging one price in store A, a lower price in store B, then saying "was £x, now £y" when the higher price was never actually charged in store B
• Saying a product price has been reduced without mentioning that this is only because the package size has shrunk
• Buy One Get One Free deals where the same volume of the same product can be bought more cheaply in a larger pack

Source: Office of Fair Trading

Clive Maxwell, OFT chief executive, told the BBC: "It is particularly welcome that we've reached this agreement at this stage with household budgets under pressure".

'Squeezed finances'

The OFT says that "half price" or "was £3, now £2" offers must be sold at the new discounted price for the same, or less, time than the previously higher price.

This would prevent short-term, artificially inflated prices masking the offer.

Items that suggest they are "better value" because they are in a "bigger pack" must have a comparable product elsewhere in the same store,

"Shoppers should be able to trust that special offers and promotions really are bargains," said Mr Maxwell.

"Prices and promotions need to be fair and meaningful so shoppers can make the right decisions. Nowhere is this more important than during regular shopping for groceries.

"[This] provides supermarkets with a clear benchmark for how they should be operating so that their food and drink promotions reflect the spirit as well as the letter of the law."

Richard Lloyd, executive director of consumer group Which?, said: "When household budgets are squeezed and food prices are one of people's top financial worries, it's unacceptable that shoppers are confused into thinking that they're getting a good deal when that might not be the case.

"Regulators should be prepared to take enforcement action against traders found breaking the rules."

A Which? investigation in May suggested that some customers had been misled by supermarkets over discounts and multi-buy offers.

It analysed more than 700,000 prices and suggested that in some cases "discounts" ran for much longer than the original price. Following that investigation, some supermarkets admitted isolated errors amid a huge volume of pricing.

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'Inconsistency'

Misleading advertising is illegal under the 2008 unfair trading regulations, and the OFT is not making any recommendation that the law should be changed.

The regulator said it did not discover any illegality during its investigation, but did find some "inconsistency" in the way the law was interpreted and applied.

Meanwhile, nearly 40% of fast-moving consumer goods could be on some sort of promotion or discount.

Many of the supermarkets said they were happy to work with the OFT.

"We will continue to ensure that our pricing and promotions are as clear as possible for our customers," said a spokesman for Sainsbury's.

The Co-op said: "We understand how important it is for shoppers to be able to easily understand what the promotional offer is, so they can spot the best deal, and we are committed to providing clear and accurate labelling for our customers so they can make informed purchasing decisions."

Aldi said it supported any initiative that encouraged "transparent pricing and a fair deal for consumers", although the agreement would have no effect on its own prices.

A Marks and Spencer spokesman said: "It is right that we sign up to these new guidelines."

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Sex offender wins Facebook case

30 November 2012 Last updated at 06:41 ET

A convicted sex offender has won a High Court order for the removal of a Facebook page set up to monitor paedophiles in Northern Ireland.

A judge ruled some content amounted to prima facie harassment of the man and risked infringing his human rights.

Facebook was given 72 hours to take down the page 'Keeping our kids safe from predators'.

Mr Justice McCloskey said: "Society has dealt with the plaintiff in accordance with the rule of law."

"He has been punished by incarceration and he is subject to substantial daily restrictions on his lifestyle."

The man, who cannot be identified, was given a six year jail sentence for a string of child sex offences committed more than two decades ago.

He was convicted of multiple counts of indecent assault, gross indecency with a child and inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency.

The man, known only as XY, issued proceedings against the social networking site after discovering his photograph and threatening comments posted on the page.

He claimed harassment, misuse of private information, and a breach of his right to privacy and freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment.

The court head that he fears being attacked or burnt out of his rented accommodation.

In a statement he described the published material as an attempt to vilify and stir up hatred against him.

Details were disclosed of some of the comments posted about him since his case against Facebook Ireland Ltd gained publicity.

One said: "So the man, or I mean mess of a human being, that's taken this page to court, he must want to be the head paedophile and rule over all sex offenders. He will be like a god to them."

Another stated: "Put him down like an animal."

It was also set out how he is suffering from ill health, including regular dialysis treatment.

Although Facebook has already removed his photo and comments made about the man, his legal team insisted the page should be shut down down.

They are also seeking disclosure of the identity of those who set up and ran it.

Lawyers for Facebook argued that it was neither necessary nor proportionate to remove a page used by 4,000 people.

However, balancing the competing rights to privacy and freedom of expression, Mr Justice McCloskey ruled in favour of the plaintiff.

He pointed out that only interim relief was being sought at this stage, and that granting it would cause minimal disruption to Facebook.

"I conclude that the pendulum of the rule of law swings in the plaintiff's favour," the judge said.

"The order of the court will be that the removal from facebook.com of the page entitled 'Keeping our kids safe from predators'... is to be effected within 72 hours."

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Palestinian UN vote 'hurts peace'

30 November 2012 Last updated at 06:49 ET

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Mark Regev: "This is negative political theatre because it takes us out of a negotiating process"

Israel says a vote upgrading the Palestinian status at the United Nations is "negative political theatre" that will "hurt peace".

Government spokesman Mark Regev said the move had taken Palestinians and Israelis out of a negotiating process.

The General Assembly voted resoundingly to recognise the Palestinians as a non-member observer state on Thursday.

The Palestinians can now take part in UN debates and potentially join bodies like the International Criminal Court.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said it was the "last chance to save the two-state solution" with Israel.

There were celebrations on the streets of Ramallah in the West Bank as the result was announced.

But Mr Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, denounced Mr Abbas' bid as "litany of libellous charges against Israel".

"This is negative political theatre that takes us out of a negotiating process. It's going to hurt peace," Mr Regev told the BBC.

'New ball-game'

Some 138 members of the assembly, including many EU states, Russia, China, India and Brazil voted in favour of recognising the Palestinians as a non-member observer state.

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President Mahmoud Abbas: "The last chance to save the two state solution"

Israel the US and seven other states, including Canada, the Marshall Islands and Panama, voted against the resolution. Forty-one nations including the UK and Germany abstained.

"The General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the State of Palestine," Mr Abbas told the assembly in New York shortly before the vote.

Opponents of the bid say a Palestinian state should emerge only out of bilateral negotiations, as set out in the 1993 Oslo peace accords under which the Palestinian Authority was established.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the vote "unfortunate and counter-productive", saying it put more obstacles on the path to peace.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also called for more talks, saying the resolution underscored the need to resume meaningful peace negotiations.

The Palestinians are seeking UN recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the lands Israel captured in 1967.

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The parties began in Yasser Arafat Square long before Mr Abbas made his speech in New York. Crowds of people waving flags gathered around large screens carrying the live feed.

Fireworks erupted in Ramallah with the news of the vote. While Palestinians will see no changes on the ground with immediate effect, the symbolism is all-important.

There is also hope that access to UN bodies will bring new rights. A successful application for membership of the International Criminal Court could be used to accuse Israel of war crimes or make other legal claims against it.

While the move is seen as a symbolic milestone in Palestinian ambitions for statehood, the Yes vote will also have a practical diplomatic effect, says the BBC's Barbara Plett at the UN in New York.

A successful application for membership of the ICC would give the court jurisdiction in the territories, and could potentially be used to accuse Israelis of war crimes.

"This is a whole new ball-game now. Israel will be dealing with a member of the international community, a state called Palestine with rights," the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's Hanan Ashrawi told the BBC.

"We will have access to international organisations and agencies and we will take it from there."

There had been lobbying by Israel and the US to try to delay the vote or change the text to obtain guarantees that no international legal action would be taken against Israel.

Settlement-building

Last year, Mr Abbas asked the UN Security Council to admit the Palestinians as a member state, but that was opposed by the US.

Two decades of on-off negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank have failed to produce a permanent settlement, with the latest round of direct negotiations breaking down in 2010.

In January, several months of indirect "proximity talks" ended without any progress.

Palestinian negotiators insist that the building of Jewish settlements on occupied land must stop before they agree to resume direct talks.

Their Israeli counterparts say there can be no preconditions.

Mr Abbas was much criticised by many Palestinians for remaining on the sidelines of the conflict between the militant Hamas movement and Israel earlier this month in Gaza.

His Fatah movement, based in the West Bank, is deeply split from Hamas, which governs Gaza. Fatah has not been part of any peace talks with Israel and does not recognise Israel's right to exist.

Israel, the US and EU regard Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

Gaza's Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh said in a statement sent to the BBC that Hamas support for the UN bid "is based on the 'rule of non-recognition of the occupier'... and the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland".

In the aftermath of the latest fighting, both Israel and Hamas have joined the international community in calling for a durable and comprehensive solution to the conflict.

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Eurozone jobless rate at new high

30 November 2012 Last updated at 06:52 ET

The eurozone's unemployment rate hit a new record high in October, while consumer price rises slowed sharply.

The jobless rate in the recessionary euro area rose to 11.7%. Inflation fell from 2.5% to 2.2% in November.

The data came as European Central Bank president Mario Draghi warned the euro would not emerge from its crisis until the second half of next year.

Government spending cuts would continue to hurt growth in the short-term, Mr Draghi said.

'Two-speed Europe'

The unemployment rate continued its steady rise, reaching 11.7% in October, up from 11.6% the month before and 10.4% a year ago.

A further 173,000 were out of work across the single currency area, bringing the total to 18.7 million.

The respective fortunes of northern and southern Europe diverged further. In Spain, the jobless rate rose to 26.2% from 25.8% the previous month, and in Italy it rose to 11.1% from 10.8%.

In contrast, unemployment in Germany held steady at 5.4% of the labour force, while in Austria it fell from 4.4% to just 4.3%.

"The real problem is that we have a two-speed Europe," economist Alberto Gallo of Royal Bank of Scotland told the BBC. "The biggest increase in unemployment is being driven by Italy and Spain.

"It is the same as you are seeing in financial markets," he explained. "The periphery [Spain and Italy] is the area where the banks are the least capitalised and need the most help, and the loan rates are the highest."

Spending hit

Data earlier this month showed that the eurozone had returned to a shallow recession in the three months to September, shrinking 0.1% during the quarter, following a 0.2% contraction the previous quarter.

The less competitive southern European economies, such as Spain and Italy - where governments have had to push through hefty spending cuts to get their borrowing under control, and crisis-struck banks have been cutting back their lending - have been in recession for over a year.

But the economies of Germany and France have also begun to weaken. Growth in the eurozone's two biggest economies came in at a disappointing 0.2%.

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Country	October 2012	October 2011
Spain	26.2%	22.7%
Greece*	25.4%	18.4%
Portugal	16.3%	13.7%
Ireland	14.7%	15.0%
Eurozone	11.7%	10.4%
Italy	11.1%	8.8%
France	10.7%	9.7%
Netherlands	5.5%	4.8%
Germany	5.4%	5.7%
Austria	4.3%	4.3%

*Greece data for August of each year

Source: Eurostat

And more recent data suggests that both core eurozone economies have continued to skirt recession during the autumn.

Retail sales in Germany shrank 2.8% in October versus the previous month, down 0.8% from a year earlier, according to data released on Friday. Analysts had expected the country to record unchanged or moderately growing sales.

Meanwhile, separate data showed consumer spending in France shrank 0.2% in October versus the previous month, with spending on cars and other durable goods hardest hit.

Calmer markets

The sharp slowdown in the eurozone's consumer price index, to 2.2% in November, is also symptomatic of the weakness of spending.

However, the inflation data may also open the door to further measures by the ECB to boost the economy, as the index fell much closer to the central bank's 2% target rate.

"We have not yet emerged from the crisis," said Mr Draghi, speaking on pan-European radio. "The recovery of the eurozone will certainly begin in the second half of 2013.

"It's true that the budgetary consolidation entails a short-term contraction of economic activity, but this budgetary consolidation is inevitable."

Despite Mr Draghi's warning, and the generally poor state of the eurozone economy, markets have begun to take a far more sanguine view of the single currency's future.

Italy's implicit cost of borrowing in the financial markets has fallen to its lowest level in two years, dropping to an implied interest rate of about 4.5% for 10-year debt.

Spain is able to borrow from markets at a 10-year rate of about 5.5% - far below the 7%-8% rate being demanded over the summer.

Mr Draghi conceded that the announcement of the ECB's willingness to buy up potentially unlimited amounts of government debt had boosted market confidence, even though no eurozone government had actually taken up the ECB's offer yet.

Banking union

However, borrowing costs in southern Europe still remain elevated compared with France and especially Germany. Berlin is currently able to borrow for 10 years at 1.37%, close to an all-time low.

"For now, what the ECB has done is to stop the bleeding," said Mr Gallo at RBS. "The central bank needs to close the gap in loan borrowing costs between the periphery and the core."

However, Mr Gallo said in his view the only way to do this was for the eurozone to move ahead with its "banking union" - which includes putting all eurozone banks under a common regulator, and creating a pan-eurozone scheme for guaranteeing bank accounts.

He was echoing the view of Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, who on Friday said that creating a single deposit guarantee system should be Europe's top priority, more important than getting government budgets under control.

Fears over a possible government default or exit from the eurozone have made it much harder for Spanish and Italian banks to borrow, and put them at risk of a sudden exodus of depositors. This in turn has undermined the banks' role in supporting their respective national economies.

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UKBA 'failed to check' tip-offs

28 November 2012 Last updated at 21:46 ET

Thousands of overseas students may have been allowed to stay in Britain illegally because UK Border Agency (UKBA) staff failed to check out tip-offs about them, a report has revealed.

When non-EU students do not enrol, stop attending courses or breach visa rules, colleges report them to the UKBA.

Chief inspector of immigration John Vine said a backlog of 153,000 such reports had built up at one point.

Ministers say they have "toughened the rules" on student visas.

Mr Vine, whose team examined work at three UKBA offices in Sheffield, Delhi and Beijing, said the agency had "no targets in place for responding to notifications made using the sponsor management system".

"As a result, notifications of changes to circumstances of students, details of students failing to enrol or attend classes, or curtailment of sponsorship were not being acted upon," he said.

"Over 150,000 notifications had accumulated and were awaiting action, meaning that potentially thousands of students had retained leave to remain when they should not have done so."

This was "a significant failure," he added.

He said that, by May of this year, all the outstanding tip-offs had been investigated and said the UKBS had "launched an operation to identify and remove people, including students, who had overstayed beyond the term of their visa".

He said such work should be "an ongoing priority rather than the subject of a one-off operation by the agency".

Inspectors also warned that increasing numbers were entering Britain on visas designed for short periods of study which were not subject to the same checks as those for longer courses.

'Ripe for exploitation'

Shadow immigration minister Chris Bryant said the "massive 153,000 backlog of people who have potentially gone rogue emphasises that, with Theresa May running the Home Office, we are getting the worst of both worlds".

"Student visitor visas have fewer checks than full student visas and are therefore ripe for exploitation by those looking to avoid tougher checks," he added.

But Immigration Minister Mark Harper said the government had "toughened the rules to ensure that genuine students are not taken advantage of by organisations looking to sell immigration not education".

"At the same time we have a great offer for the brightest and best international talent who want to study at our world class institutions," he added.

He said he was pleased the report "recognises the operational improvements that have been made at the agency".

Mistakes 'inadvertent'

Earlier this month, Mr Vine accused the border agency in a report of misleading MPs about the amount of background checks made on historic asylum cases.

He said the UKBA had supplied inaccurate information to MPs about a backlog of cases and said Parliament had received incorrect assurances about progress.

At the time, a Home Office spokesman said it was turning around the "troubled" agency.

On Tuesday, senior UKBA official Jonathan Sedgwick apologised to the Home Affairs Committee for misleading MPs but insisted the mistakes had been "inadvertent".

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Concern over salt level in cheese

29 November 2012 Last updated at 02:52 ET By Anna-Marie Lever Health reporter, BBC News

Large amounts of unnecessary salt are being added to cheese, the health pressure group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash), has warned.

The group analysed 722 cheese portions of 30g each and found many contained more salt than a bag of crisps.

The saltiest type was roquefort at 1.06g per 30g. But within varieties salt content varied - suggesting it is possible to reduce levels.

The Dairy Council said cheese provided a wide range of nutrients.

Too much salt is known to raise blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The survey looked at over 30 different cheese varieties from seven supermarkets over four months up to November 2012, assessing salt content in a standard 30g portion size.

The saltiest cheese varieties were the blue cheese Roquefort, with 1.06g of salt in a 30g portion, feta and halloumi.

The cheese varieties with the lowest salt levels were mozzarella, emmental and wensleydale.

Within cheese varieties there was also a large variation in salt content between products.

Continue reading the main story

• Recommended daily maximum: 6g
• Roquefort, 30g portion: 1.06g salt
• Bacon rasher: 0.9g
• Halloumi, 30g: 0.81g
• Seawater, 30g: 0.75g
• Cheddar, 30g: 0.52g
• Packet of crisps: 0.5g
• Mozzarella, 30g: 0.30g

The survey found that for gorgonzola, one cheese product was nearly six times saltier than the least salty, and large differences were also seen in wensleydale and cheddar.

Cash said salt intake should be less than 6g a day - about a teaspoon - and urged consumers to choose either a lower salt version or eat less cheese.

Cash chairman Prof Graham MacGregor said: "Even small reductions will have large health benefits. For every one gram reduction in population salt intake we can prevent 12,000 heart attacks, stroke and heart failure, half of which would have been fatal.

"The Department of Health must now stop its delaying tactics and set new much lower targets for cheese manufacturers, and make sure they achieve them. The cheese industry must comply if we are to save the maximum number of lives"

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Benefits of cheese

But others warned the conclusions Cash has drawn from its research paint an incomplete picture.

Dr Judith Bryans, director of the Dairy Council, a non-profit-making organisation, said: "The Cash survey is mixing up the effect of cheese on health with the effect of salt on health.

"Cheese provides a wide range of nutrients including protein, vitamins and important minerals such as calcium.

"Salt is an integral part of the cheese-making process. It is not added for taste or flavour but for safety and technical reasons.

"Cheese manufacturers have worked very hard to reduce salt levels in their products and worked constructively and positively with government agencies to do this whilst producing products which are nutritious, safe and acceptable to the consumer."

Around 700,000 tonnes of cheese are consumed by UK households a year, and cheese is the third biggest contributor of salt to the UK diet after bacon and bread.

The Department of Health said it was tackling salt levels in food.

Public Health Minister Anna Soubry said: "Soon we will have a single front-of-pack labelling scheme which will make it easier for people to compare products, and choose the healthier options available.

"Through the Responsibility Deal, we are in discussions with industry about how they can further reduce the salt levels in their food."

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Bizarrely big black hole baffles

29 November 2012 Last updated at 04:42 ET

Astronomers have spotted an enormous black hole - the second-heaviest ever seen - but it resides in a tiny galaxy.

The galaxy NGC 1277, just a quarter the size of our own Milky Way, hosts a black hole 4,000 times larger than the one at the Milky Way's centre.

It has a mass some 17 billion times that of our Sun.

The surprise finding is hard to reconcile with existing models of black hole growth, which hold that they evolve in tandem with host galaxies.

Getting to grips with just how large black holes are is a tricky business - after all, since they swallow light in their vicinities, they cannot be seen.

Instead, astronomers measure the black holes' "sphere of influence" - the gravitational effects they have on surrounding gas and stars.

In the Milky Way, it is possible to observe individual stars as they orbit Sagittarius A, our own local black hole, to guess its mass.

But for the 100 or so far more distant black holes whose masses have been estimated, astronomers have made average measurements of associated stars' speeds - their "velocity dispersion".

On a hunt for the Universe's largest black holes, astronomers using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in the US state of Texas undertook a survey that brought in a haul of nearly 900 host galaxies.

'Big jigsaw'

But Remco van den Bosch, then at the University of Texas at Austin, and his colleagues were surprised to find that some of the largest black holes were to be found in small galaxies.

Continue reading the main story

• Black holes are incredibly dense objects with gravity strong enough to trap even light
• A "medium" black hole could have the mass of 1,000 Suns but be no bigger than Earth
• Supermassive black holes are thought to be at the centre of most large galaxies - including ours

Among them was NGC 1277, 220 million light years away in the constellation Perseus, which happens to appear also in a high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope image, helping the researchers to refine their computer models.

"We make a model of the galaxy and compute all the possible stellar orbits," Dr Van den Bosch explained to BBC News. "Like a big jigsaw, we try to put those orbits together to reproduce that galaxy so it has the same stellar velocities we measure. "

What the team found was that the NGC 1277 black hole was enormous - as large as our Solar System, and comprising some 14% of the entire galaxy's mass.

"The only way to you can actually make those high dispersions in the centre is by having that really big black hole, there's really no other way around it," Dr Van den Bosch said.

What is more, the team have five other small-galaxy candidates that, with the help of more data, could disprove the rule that big black holes only happen in big galaxies.

But NGC 1277 is stranger still, and could help advance our theories of how black holes evolve in the first place.

"This galaxy seems to be very old," Dr Van den Bosch said. "So somehow this black hole grew very quickly a long time ago, but since then that galaxy has been sitting there not forming any new stars or anything else.

"We're trying to figure out how this happens, and we don't have an answer for that yet. But that's why it's cool."

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Lib Dems 'might ditch' data bill

29 November 2012 Last updated at 05:37 ET By James Landale Deputy political editor

The Lib Dems are considering their support for government plans to give the police new powers to monitor email and internet use, the BBC has learned.

Party sources say leader Nick Clegg is ready to use a parliamentary report, due out next week, to oppose the plans.

The draft Communications Data Bill would allow police access to details of people's email and internet use, which many Lib Dems oppose.

But Home Office sources insist the bill would become law by 2014.

At the moment, the police and intelligence services can get access to information about people's mobile phone use.

The bill would extend those powers to cover email and the internet. The authorities would be able to see details of who communicated with whom, and when and where, but they would not be able to see the content of the message.

'Non-committal'

The Home Office says these powers are needed to help the police and intelligence services fight organised crime, terrorist networks and paedophile rings.

But critics argue they would infringe civil liberties and have branded the bill a "snoopers' charter".

Sources said Mr Clegg met the Prime Minister face to face earlier this week to discuss the issue and was "noncommittal" about the bill's future.

The loss of Lib Dem support would place a question mark over the future of the bill as the Conservatives would struggle to push it through Parliament alone.

Labour accepts there is an issue to be addressed but has not yet said if it will support the bill.

A joint committee of MPs and peers has been considering the draft bill since the summer and it will publish next week what is expected to be a strongly critical report.

One senior Lib Dem minister said: "The report gives Nick an opportunity to kill the bill for good and that's what he wants to do." Another said: "This is a dead duck. It is a question of when, not if."

In its report, the joint committee on the draft Communications Data Bill will argue that:

• The Home Office has failed to make the case for the new laws, not least by failing to show how the police use existing laws to monitor mobile phone data.

• The bill infringes civil liberties and invades privacy by allowing the police access to a mass of new data without adequate safeguards. In particular, they will argue that in some internet use - particularly social media sites - it is difficult to distinguish between the details of the communication and the actual content of the message.

• The measure would damage British businesses by forcing phone companies and internet service providers to store at huge cost for 12 months masses of new data that they would not otherwise keep.

• The new pool of data would be open to abuse and present a security threat.

One committee source said: "It is critical of the approach the Home Office initially took and recommends more caution and a more proportionate way forward.

"It worries about individual liberties and principle and the costs and proportionality of what was initially recommended. How secure is this information? Are you certain it cannot be stolen by people who have access to it?"

The Lib Dem leadership has faced some internal criticism for supporting separate plans in the Justice and Security Bill to extend the use of so-called secret courts to hear sensitive intelligence material.

So some within the party argue that Mr Clegg should oppose the Communications Data bill to reaffirm the Liberal Democrats' civil liberties' credentials.

Some Lib Dems believe that there is not much depth of support for the bill among the Conservatives and they will not go to the wire to save the measure.

One source claimed that even some Home Office ministers have doubts. They also noted that the Conservatives had opposed measures like this in their election manifesto, promising that they would "scale back Labour's database state".

But Home Office sources insisted that the government remained determined to get the bill onto the statute book by 2014.

They said the police were crying out for this new system which was a vital tool not just to detect crime but also to prosecute criminals.

The Conservative MP Dominic Raab said that he too would oppose the Communications Data Bill. "There are fundamental issues of necessity, principle, cost and viability that remain unanswered," he said. "I cannot see Parliament backing the plans."

Nick Pickles, director of the civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, said: "If the committee finds, like 90 day detention and ID cards before, that the Home Office is relying on scant evidence and scaremongering, both sides of the coalition should want to stop a bill that would hurt privacy, the economy and internet security.

"Parliamentarians of all parties should heed the advice of this in-depth investigation and recognise the serious concerns identified in evidence to the Joint Committee. If the committee finds this bill is not fit for purpose, I'd expect the Lib Dems to be supported by their Conservative colleagues in heeding that advice."

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Clegg to give Leveson response

29 November 2012 Last updated at 06:49 ET

The deputy prime minister is to make his own statement in the Commons on the Leveson report after reportedly failing to agree a united government response with David Cameron on press regulation.

Lib Dem aides say Nick Clegg's decision does not represent "a massive split or disagreement" within the coalition.

Lord Justice Leveson's report into the culture, practice and ethics of the press will be published at 13:30 GMT.

His inquiry heard from politicians, press and media intrusion victims.

They included the actor Hugh Grant, singer Charlotte Church and the family of murdered teenager Milly Dowler.

Milly's parents, Bob and Sally Dowler, and Mr Grant arrived at the QEII Conference Centre in central London, where copies of the report are being made available to inquiry participants before its official publication.

It is understood the report, which runs to hundreds of pages, criticises press, politicians and police.

On Wednesday, Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg were given advance copies.

The prime minister and his deputy met twice ahead of the report's publication in an effort to agree on a unified government statement to Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Aides to Nick Clegg say his decision to make a separate statement on Leveson does not represent "a massive split or disagreement" within the coalition.

Sources say Mr Clegg's differences with the prime minister over the Leveson report are "nuanced".

They say there are some areas on which the two men agree and others where they disagree.

It's understood Mr Clegg's staff are in talks with the Speaker's office over the procedure for his statement. However, it is thought Mr Clegg will make a separate statement after the prime minister on which MPs will be able to question him.

Sources say Mr Clegg reached his decision "after sleeping on it overnight".

However, the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says, according to sources, the two men will agree on some things but both will refer to the areas on which they disagree when they speak in the Commons.

It will the first time since the coalition was formed in May 2010 that MPs will hear two different views from the government.

A Downing Street spokeswoman confirmed Mr Cameron would be making a statement in his role as prime minister while Lib Dem leader Mr Clegg would be speaking in his capacity as deputy prime minister.

The prime minister's statement to the Commons will be directly followed by a response from Labour leader Ed Miliband, who received his own copy of the Leveson report in the morning.

MPs will then have a chance to debate the PM's statement before Mr Clegg addresses them and Labour's deputy leader and shadow culture secretary, Harriet Harman, will then respond to the DPM.

'Little trust'

Claims that News of the World journalists had hacked the voicemail of Milly Dowler led to the closure of the Sunday tabloid and prompted Mr Cameron to set up the inquiry.

Lord Justice Leveson is widely expected to recommend some form of statutory press regulation overseen by an independent body.

Many Conservatives oppose the possibility of statutory regulation while Liberal Democrats are understood to be ready to support such a move.

The press is currently self-regulated through the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

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Inquiry key moments: The parents of Milly Dowler were among those who gave evidence

The BBC's political editor said everyone was seeking independent regulation but the question was what that meant and whether a new law was needed to establish it and make sure all newspapers took part.

Deciding the way forward was one of the most difficult decisions the prime minister would face, Nick Robinson added.

Mr Cameron, who previously said he intended to implement the inquiry findings provided they were not "bonkers", told MPs at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday he wanted to find a cross-party consensus on improving regulation and moving away from the "unacceptable" status quo.

He said he wanted an "independent regulatory system that can deliver and in which the public have confidence".

Mr Miliband responded: "I hope we can work on an all-party basis. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for real change and I hope that this House can make it happen."

Speaking as he left his home ahead of the report's publication, Mr Clegg said politicians would have to strike a balance in their response.

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"Everybody wants two things... a strong, independent, raucous press, who can hold people in positions of power to account and, secondly, to protect ordinary people, the vulnerable, the innocents when the press overstep the mark."

Bristol landlord Chris Jefferies, who was wrongly arrested for the murder of Joanna Yeates in 2010 and won damages from a number of newspapers over their reports, said his experience had been "absolutely devastating".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he wanted an independent regulator, with investigative powers established by statute with the "powers to discipline those parts of the press which contravene the codes".

Continue reading the main story

Possible options for regulation

• Statutory regulation: Stricter regulation of the press, enforceable by law
• Statutory underpinning: Self-regulatory body with statutory framework which enforces newspapers to sign up
• New Press Complaints Council: Tougher self-regulation body with investigative arm. One proposal suggests body should be independent from newspaper industry
• Newspaper ombudsman: Self-regulatory body, working alongside PCC, to deal with standards

But former Press Complaints Commission member and Daily Mail journalist Paul Horrocks said while tighter regulation was essential "what we don't want is that toughening up to be in some kind of law... because that then really threatens the freedom of the press".

Meanwhile, a poll conducted for BBC Radio 5 live suggests that two-thirds of British adults have no trust - or little trust - that newspapers tell the truth.

Just over 1,000 people were questioned on the telephone by ComRes last weekend, with nearly a half also saying they wanted to see the press regulated by rules agreed and enforced by the courts.

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UK net migration down by quarter

29 November 2012 Last updated at 06:53 ET

Net migration levels to the UK have fallen significantly in the past year, official estimates have indicated.

Net migration - the balance between the number of people who come to live in the UK for the long-term and the number who are leaving - fell from 242,000 to 183,000 in the year to March.

The reduction was principally because of a fall in the number of foreign nationals studying in the UK.

The government wants to reduce the annual figure to the tens of thousands.

The Conservatives made reducing net migration a key part of their immigration policy while in opposition.

Provisional data released by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday indicates that net migration in 2011-2 fell to below 200,000 for the first time since 2008-9.

'Tough policies'

Over that period, inward migration to the UK fell by 42,000 to 536,000 - with the number of non-EU nationals settling in the UK falling from 317,000 to 296,000.

The ONS said the fall was "largely due" to a drop in the number of foreign students despite an increase in the number of arrivals from China - the UK's largest overseas student market.

Continue reading the main story

Our tough policies are taking effect"

End Quote Mark Harper Immigration minister

At the same time, the number of people choosing to leave the UK rose from 108,000 to 127,000.

Home Office minister Mark Harper said the latest figures showed the government was bringing immigration "back under control".

"Our tough policies are taking effect and this marks a significant step towards bringing net migration down from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands by the end of this Parliament," he said.

"At the same time, we continue to attract the brightest and best: these figures show that there has been a small increase in the number of sponsored student visa applications for the university sector."

Migration Watch, which campaigns for tighter controls on immigration, welcomed the figures.

"We can now see the first effects of the government's measures to reduce immigration," its chairman Sir Andrew Green said. "There is a distance to go but they are on the right track."

'Economic cost'

The BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said despite the lowest inward migration since 2004, the figures suggest the government still has some way to go to meet its goal to reduce net migration to below 100,000 by 2015.

The net migration target has caused some tension within the coalition, with Lib Dems and some Tories - including Mayor of London Boris Johnson - believing it risks send the wrong signals to foreign students and hampering the economic recovery.

And there are warnings that any fall in net migration driven by lower student numbers could come at a "significant economic cost".

"Steps to reduce abuse of the student visa system are welcome but if the government's net migration target is to be met, they also need there to be a dramatic fall in the numbers of genuine students," said Sarah Mulley from the Institute of Public Policy Research.

She said the 26% fall in the number of student visas issued could ultimately prove counter-productive.

"The irony is that the impacts on net migration will only be short-lived because most students stay only for a short time. Reduced immigration today means reduced emigration in a year or two's time, which could see net migration rise again."

The figures come on the same day the Chief Inspector of Borders John Vine warned that thousands of overseas students may have been allowed to stay in Britain illegally because UK Border Agency staff failed to check out tip-offs about them - a backlog of 153,000 had built up at one point, he said.

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Government publishes Energy Bill

29 November 2012 Last updated at 07:14 ET

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Energy Secretary Ed Davey says the Bill will transform the energy landscape

Energy minister Ed Davey has unveiled the government's much-trailed Energy Bill, setting out the roadmap for the UK's switch to "a low-carbon economy".

Household energy bills could rise by at least £100 by 2020 to help pay for the switch to "clean" energy.

Energy companies will be allowed to increase the amount they levy consumers from £3bn a year to £7.6bn.

Mr Davey said that energy efficiency would be "front and centre" of government policy.

He added that the proposals would amount to the "biggest transformation of Britain's electricity market".

The Energy Bill aims to move the UK's energy production from a dependence on fossil fuels to a more diverse mix of energy sources, such as wind, nuclear and biomass.

The switch would cost the country £110bn over the next ten years, Mr Davey said .

But in a statement published alongside the Bill, he said that energy-intensive industries, such as steel and cement producers, would be exempt from additional costs arising from measures to encourage investment in new low-carbon production.

"Decarbonisation should not mean deindustrialisation", Mr Davey said.

"The transition to the low carbon economy will depend on products made by energy intensive industries - a wind turbine for example needing steel, cement and high-tech textiles.

"This exemption will ensure the UK retains the industrial capacity to support a low carbon economy."

Without the exemption, the government feared big companies would be forced to cut jobs and relocate abroad.

The government says the investment will shield the UK from volatile gas prices and force down costs in the long run.

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Plan for 45p minimum alcohol cost

28 November 2012 Last updated at 05:34 ET By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Ministers are proposing a minimum price of 45p a unit for the sale of alcohol in England and Wales as part of a drive to tackle problem drinking.

The Home Office has launched a 10-week consultation on the plan, arguing it will help reduce the levels of ill-health and crime related to alcohol.

It is also considering banning multi-buy promotions, such as two-for-the-price-of-one.

The 45p proposal is 5p higher than the figure suggested by ministers in March.

It comes after pressure has been mounting on the government to follow Scotland's lead, where 50p has been proposed.

The aim of a minimum price would be to alter the cost of heavily-discounted drinks sold in shops and supermarkets. It is not expected to affect the price of drinks in many pubs.

The Home Office said the consultation was targeted at "harmful drinkers and irresponsible shops".

A spokesman added: "Those who enjoy a quiet drink or two have nothing to fear from our proposals."

The 45p minimum would mean a can of strong lager could not be sold for less than £1.56 and a bottle of wine below £4.22.

Research carried out by Sheffield University for the government shows a 45p minimum would reduce the consumption of alcohol by 4.3%, leading to 2,000 fewer deaths and 66,000 hospital admissions after 10 years.

The number of crimes would drop by 24,000 a year as well, researchers suggested.

There has been evidence of some outlets selling alcohol at a loss to encourage customers through the doors, with cans of lager going for 20p and two-litre bottles of cider available for under £2.

'Pre-loading'

Ministers have been particularly critical of such practices, blaming them for what has been dubbed "pre-loading", where people binge-drink before going out.

They have linked this phenomenon to the rising levels of alcohol-related violence and hospital admissions, of which there are more than a million a year.

But the idea of introducing a minimum price - first proposed at 40p in the government's alcohol strategy published in March - has been met with opposition by the industry.

The Scottish government plan, which is not due to start until April 2013, was challenged on legal grounds by the Scotch Whisky Association and the European Spirits Organisation.

Continue reading the main story

What's a unit?

• Half a pint of standard strength (4%) beer, cider or lager
• A single pub measure of spirit (25ml)
• Half a standard 175ml glass of wine

They claimed it was up to Westminster, rather than Holyrood, to decide such an issue and they said it was also incompatible with the EU's "general principles of free trade and undistorted competition".

The legal challenges were heard in the Court of Session in Edinburgh last month and a judgement is expected before the end of the year.

Separately the European Commission is looking into the legality of the Scottish government's actions.

In Northern Ireland, consideration is also being given to minimum pricing, although no final decision has been taken yet.

Andrew Opie, of the British Retail Consortium, said: "Most major retailers believe minimum pricing and controls on promotions are unfair to most customers. They simply penalise the vast majority, who are perfectly responsible drinkers, while doing nothing to reduce irresponsible drinking.

"The government should recognise the role of personal responsibility. It should not allow interfering in the market to regulate prices and promotions to become the default approach for public health policy."

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, agreed, saying there was "no evidence" minimum alcohol pricing would be effective in tackling alcohol misuse.

Continue reading the main story

The 45p effect

On the face of it, there seems to be little difference between the 45p minimum unit price for alcohol now being proposed and the 40p figure put forward earlier this year.

But in terms of consumption levels - and the subsequent criminal and health costs - the shift is significant.

Research by Sheffield University shows that at 45p consumption drops by 4.3% - a 75% greater effect than would be seen at 40p.

In terms of deaths over a 10-year period, the impact is nearly double. A 45p minimum will save over 2,000 lives compared to under 1,200 for 40p. The effect on crime is also two-fold.

But what the research also shows is that another 5p on the minimum price to bring it to 50p - as Scotland has done - would see a similar increase in impact, which is why campaigners have been pushing for more.

Another area of interest - and possible controversy - is the effect this will have on moderate drinkers.

The research shows a 45p minimum price also effects their buying habits, reducing consumption by 2.3%. That is greater than the reduction likely to be seen in young hazardous drinkers - the so-called binge drinkers.

But health campaigners believe a minimum price is an important step in tackling problem drinking.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, from the British Medical Association, said the changes in pricing could help to stop young people binge drinking.

She told the BBC: "Alcohol is a dose-related poison, in other words the more you drink the more harm it causes, so by reducing the amount they are drinking over the safe limit you are helping to save them.

"It isn't a small minority of the population who are drinking excessively, it's nearly a quarter. That's a huge number of people who are drinking at levels that are hazardous to their health and we really have to throw everything we can (at it) to save lives."

Eric Appleby, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: "We're paying a heavy price for alcohol misuse and setting a minimum unit price will help us on the road to changing this.

"But we cannot cut the misery caused by excessive drinking, whether it's crime or hospitalisation, through price alone.

"We need tighter controls around licensing, giving local authorities and police forces all the tools they need to get a firm grip on the way alcohol is being sold in their area. We have an opportunity to make an enormous difference to the lives of thousands of people - we must seize it."

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US piracy accused strikes deal

28 November 2012 Last updated at 06:47 ET

A student facing trial and possible imprisonment in the United States has struck a deal to avoid extradition, the High Court has been told.

Richard O'Dwyer, from Sheffield, is accused of breaking copyright laws.

The US authorities claimed the 24-year-old's TVShack website hosted links to pirated films and TV programmes.

The High Court was told Mr O'Dwyer had signed a "deferred prosecution" agreement which would require him paying a small sum of compensation.

Mr O'Dwyer will travel to the US voluntarily in the next few weeks for the deal to be formally ratified, it is understood.

'Satisfactory outcome'

The Sheffield Hallam student could have faced jail if convicted of the allegations, which were brought following a crackdown by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

A High Court judge was told that Mr O'Dwyer was expected to travel to the US in the next 14 days to complete the agreement, pay a small sum in compensation and give undertakings not to infringe copyright laws again.

His extradition application is then expected to return to the High Court so it can formally be disposed of.

The judge said: "It would be very nice for everyone if this was resolved happily before Christmas."

Sir John Thomas, president of the Queen's Bench Division, said it was a "very satisfactory outcome".

Domain seized

Home Secretary Theresa May approved Mr O'Dwyer's extradition after a court ruling in January.

In May, Mr O'Dwyer was told his appeal against the decision, which was due to take place in July at the High Court, would be delayed.

The High Court heard as a result of the deal struck by Mr O'Dwyer, an appeal would no longer be necessary.

The case was brought by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which claimed the TVShack.net website earned more than $230,000 (£147,000) in advertising revenue.

The US authorities obtained a warrant and seized the domain name in June 2010.

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Cameron faces weekly PM questions

28 November 2012 Last updated at 06:51 ET

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Live: PM's questions from noon, followed by William Hague statement

David Cameron is facing his weekly session of questions from Labour leader Ed Miliband and MPs at noon.

The prime minister is appearing shortly after Downing Street received copies of the Leveson report into UK media standards, which is published tomorrow.

Another subject which could be raised is the plan for a minimum price of 45p per alcohol unit in England and Wales.

The clash comes the day before three by-elections are held, in Rotherham, Croydon North and Middlesbrough.

The question and answer session will last from approximately 12:00 GMT to 12:30 GMT.

It will be followed by a statement from Foreign Secretary William Hague on the UK's position with regard to Palestinians' request to the UN general assembly to be upgraded from permanent observer to "non-member observer state".

Israel and US oppose the move, which is due to be voted on later this week.

They are concerned that the Palestinians are trying to seek full statehood via the UN, rather than through negotiation as set out in the 1993 Oslo peace accords under which the Palestinian Authority was established.

France, Switzerland and Denmark have all given their backing to the Palestinian position in the last 24 hours.

Other topics which are likely to be raised during Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) are the flooding this week, and figures suggesting the government's flagship welfare to work scheme had missed its targets.

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One in 10 workers underemployed

28 November 2012 Last updated at 06:53 ET

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Penny Cook has asked her part-time employer for more hours but has been refused

One in 10 of all workers in the UK are now officially underemployed, according to a study from the Office For National Statistics (ONS).

It says 3,050,000 workers want to work more hours each week, out of a total workforce of 29.41 million.

The number of workers in this position has shot up by 980,000 in the four years since the start of the economic recession in 2008.

Most of the underemployment is concentrated among part-time workers.

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This problem of underemployment seems to particularly affect the poorer parts of society"

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The main reason for the growth of underemployment has been the economic downturn of the past few years.

"During this period many workers moved from full-time to part-time roles and many of those returning to work after a period of unemployment could only find part-time jobs," the statistical office said.

"Of the extra one million underemployed workers in 2012 compared with 2008, three-quarters were in part-time posts."

The ONS said 1.9 million of the underemployed were in part-time jobs and this meant, in turn, that 24% of all part-timers wanted more work.

By contrast, only 5.5% of full-time staff said they wanted to work more hours.

'Its really tough'

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The expectation had always been the part-time job would convert into full-time employment. The recession has changed that hope"

End Quote Caroline Parre Part-time academic

The growth of underemployment has gone alongside a big fall in the real value of earnings, the ONS said, which have been outstripped by inflation in recent years.

Jane Tomlinson, a part-time worker from Oxford, told the BBC what it had been like to be underemployed for the past year.

"I work only 15 hours a week paid work for a charity as communications manager," she said.

"I don't actually want a full-time job, but I need more than 15 hours a week, so I pick up a bit of copywriting work here and there as I can find it.

"But month to month it's really tough as I make only just enough to pay the bills. Thank goodness my husband has a job," she added.

Caroline Parre, an academic from Birmingham, said for the past three years the recession had prevented her hours being extended.

"Recruited to set up a research centre, the expectation had always been the part-time job would convert into full-time employment. The recession has changed that hope," she said.

"There is danger in the situation: to enable the success of the venture I have, voluntarily, worked full-time hours on a part-time salary, in the hope and belief that efforts would be rewarded.

"Efforts, of course, are not rewarded, and employers find themselves in the happy position of paying full time workers half-time salaries," she pointed out.

But a spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the figures showed that three quarters of all part-time staff appeared to be content.

"Part-time working suits millions of people and gives others the skills and experience to find a different job or take advantage of longer hours when they are available," she said.

"For many people it is an important step to full-time work and coming off benefits."

Self-employed

The ONS explained that most of the rise in underemployment took place between 2008 and 2009, when the recession first gripped the UK economy.

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ONS statistician Jamie Jenkins: "Underemployment has gone up by one million people since the economic crisis"

Since then it has still been rising, though more slowly then before.

According to the ONS analysis, the problem is worst among the lowest paid, young workers and those in low-skilled jobs, such as labourers, cleaners and catering staff.

The shortage of work has also led to a big rise in the level of underemployment reported by the self-employed.

They are now even more likely to report being underemployed than those who work for others.

However the precise reasons for individuals being underemployed can vary.

The ONS said these reasons could include:

• employers only being able to offer a few hours of work each week
• workers, such as bar staff, being in jobs where they are only required for a few hours a day
• personal circumstances changing so that someone now wants to work more hours then before
• people settling for a part-time job as second-best when they would much rather have a full-time one

Labour market economist John Philpott said: "Approaching one in five economically active people are struggling in today's 'no or not enough work' economy.

"Add in the effect of falling real take-home pay for the vast majority of people in work and it becomes clear how much distress is being suffered."

The TUC's general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: "Being underemployed carries a huge pay penalty that puts a real strain on people's finances.

"Long periods of underemployment can cause longer term career damage, which is particularly worrying for the one in five young people currently trapped in it."

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Louis Walsh court case settled

28 November 2012 Last updated at 07:08 ET

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Louis Walsh: 'I remain very angry at the treatment I received from the Sun'

X Factor judge Louis Walsh has settled a 500,000 euro (£403,500) defamation case against Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers.

The TV talent show panellist sued the media group after the Sun ran a false story that he sexually assaulted a man.

Leonard Watters was jailed for six months for wrongly accusing Mr Walsh of groping him in a Dublin club in 2011.

Mr Walsh took legal action against the publisher over the coverage of Irish police inquiries into the allegations.

He sued for damages, including for aggravated and exemplary damages, over an article published on 23 June 2011 with the headline Louis Probed Over 'Sex Attack' on Man in Loo.

The paper accepted the accusation was false but denied defamation, saying that it acted fairly.

The case had been listed for mention in the High Court in Dublin.

'Remained angry'

Mr Walsh said he felt vindicated by the settlement adding that the story had "started with the Irish Sun".

"I have the utmost respect and time for most journalists with whom I've always enjoyed a good relationship," he said.

He said, however, that he remained angry at the way he had been treated by the paper.

"I am therefore absolutely gutted and traumatised that these allegations against me should have been published, particularly as I had made it clear at the time there was not one iota of truth in them, that I was totally bewildered as to who would have made up this type of story," he said.

"Although the perpetrator has since been convicted as a result of concocting the allegations, this didn't stop the story being spread all around the world as a result of the Sun's headlines."

He said that while no amount of money would compensate him for what he had been through, he was glad to have achieved a decisive and categorical settlement.

Watters, a 25-year-old father-of-two, alleged he had been sexually assaulted by Mr Walsh in a toilet at the club. His first complaint was made to police outside the club within hours of the false attack.

He was later examined in a sexual assault unit which revealed bruising in his genital area.

Promised payments

Lawyers for the music promoter claimed a crime writer with the Irish edition of the Sun, Joanne McElgunn, met Watters in a hotel on 15 June, bought him dinner and offered him a sum of money on behalf of the newspaper if he agreed to make a complaint to police about being assaulted by Walsh.

It is also alleged the journalist travelled with Watters to Pearse Street Garda station so he could make the agreed complaint against Mr Walsh, and that Watters was paid 700 euro (£565) and promised further payments after the story was printed.

When the official complaint was made, the Sun and the Irish Sun printed the story before Mr Walsh was questioned under caution. He vigorously denied the accusation.

But within days investigators showed Watters CCTV footage from the club that disputed his claims, and he admitted he had made up the allegation.

Watters, from Navan in County Meath, was arrested, charged and publicly apologised to Walsh for the unfounded claims. He was recently released from jail.

Meanwhile, Mr Walsh took a case against the newspaper, which had been ordered by a judge to hand over all documents identifying or referring to any payments made or offered to Watters.

The orders also applied to Ms McElgunn, Sun journalist Gordon Smart and Dominic Mohan, editor of the Sun, and Michael McNiff, former Irish Sun editor who resigned last month.

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Twin blasts shake Damascus suburb

28 November 2012 Last updated at 07:12 ET

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No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts

At least 34 people have been killed and many injured by two car bomb explosions in a south-eastern district of Syria's capital, Damascus, state media report.

State television said "terrorists" were behind the blasts in Jaramana and broadcast pictures showing several charred vehicles and damaged buildings.

The district is predominantly Druze and Christian, two communities which have so far not joined the uprising.

Earlier, there were clashes between security forces and rebels in Jaramana.

There has been fierce fighting in recent days in eastern parts of the countryside around Damascus, known as the Ghouta.

'Suicide attacker'

The pro-government TV channel, Addounia, said the car bombs exploded in Jaramana shortly after 06:40 local time (04:40 GMT).

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The car bombs exploded in an area which is predominantly Druze and Christian - two minorities which President Bashar al-Assad's government says it is protecting from "terrorist extremists".

These are not the first attacks in Jaramana to have been blamed on those seeking to overthrow the government. But in the past, the armed opposition has denied any involvement and repeatedly said it is targeting Mr Assad's forces and not minority groups. Areas like Jaramana are heavily guarded by pro-government militia known as Popular Committees.

The conflict in Syria is rapidly taking on a sectarian dimension. Earlier this month, similar attacks took place in pro-government Alawite districts like Mezzeh 86 and Woroud.

Meanwhile, government forces continue to bombard rebel-held areas in Damascus and elsewhere in the country that are predominantly Sunni. The opposition says the decisive battle to overthrow Mr Assad will be in Damascus. The city has become heavily fortified, with security forces personnel and checkpoints all over. Many people here feel the tension of further escalation yet to hit the capital.

"Terrorists blew up two car bombs filled with a large amount of explosives in the main square," the official Sana news agency reported.

State television quoted a source at the interior ministry as saying that 34 people had died and 83 had been seriously injured.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, put the death toll at 38.

"Activists and residents in the town said most of the victims were killed when a suicide attacker blew up his car, just after an explosive device was used to blow up another car," it said.

Two smaller bombs also exploded in Jaramana at around the same time as the attack, Sana said, adding that nobody was killed by them.

No group has said it was behind the bombings, and there was no immediately obvious military or government target.

"What do they want from Jaramana? The town brings together people from all over Syria and welcomes everybody," one resident told the AFP news agency.

The population of Jaramana is mainly Christian and Druze, a heterodox offshoot of Islam. It is also home to many Palestinian and Iraqi refugees.

Few members of Syria's minority groups have supported the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. They are fearful for their future if the country's majority Sunni Muslim community chooses an Islamist leadership to replace decades of secular rule.

Supporters of the government in Jaramana and other Damascus suburbs have set up armed vigilante groups - known as Popular Committees - to prevent attacks such as Wednesday's. On 29 October, 11 people were killed in a car bombing in Jaramana.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, witnesses told AFP that rebel fighters had captured the pilot of a warplane shot down over Darat Izza, in the northern province of Aleppo. One of the agency's reporters earlier saw a large explosion as the jet crashed near the town.

Fighter jets earlier bombarded rebel positions in the western Damascus suburb of Darayya, the SOHR said.

The government army also reportedly shelled Zabadani, a town in the mountains north-west of the capital. The Syrian Revolution General Commission, an opposition activist network, said more than 50 shells had fallen on the town in 30 minutes, injuring several people.

The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), another activist network, reported that at least 50 people had been killed across the country on Wednesday, most of them in Jaramana.

Activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011.

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Cameron receives Leveson report

28 November 2012 Last updated at 07:13 ET

The Leveson report into media standards has been given to Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of its official publication on Thursday.

Downing Street said it received "half a dozen copies" and it is thought the deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and the culture secretary will also see it.

The PM and deputy PM are set to meet to discuss the government response to recommendations on press regulation.

On Wednesday 80 MPs and peers urged Lord Leveson to rule out a new law.

The cross-party group, including eight former cabinet ministers and London Olympics chairman Lord Coe, said a law would damage press freedom by giving too much power to the government.

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It is not often that the prime minister, his deputy and their most senior advisers clear their diaries"

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The group, which has written to the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph, wants a stronger "self-regulatory" system.

They are opposed by campaigners, like former motorsport executive Max Mosely, who say the current system of self-regulation has failed and new laws are needed.

Number Ten said procedures were in place to ensure the report was not shared widely in government in the 24 hours before its official release.

There will be a coalition committee meeting on Thursday morning consisting of senior members from both sides of the coalition to finalise the government's response.

'State licensing'

Lord Justice Leveson was asked to produce a list of recommendations for a more effective policy and regulatory regime for the press, which would preserve its independence while encouraging higher ethical and professional standards.

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Possible options for regulation

• Statutory regulation: Stricter regulation of the press, enforceable by law
• Statutory underpinning: Self-regulatory body with statutory framework which enforces newspapers to sign up
• New Press Complaints Council: Tougher self-regulation body with investigative arm. One proposal suggests body should be independent from newspaper industry
• Newspaper ombudsman: Self-regulatory body, working alongside PCC, to deal with standards

At the moment the press is self-regulated through the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

The Leveson report is widely expected to recommend some form of statutory regulation overseen by an independent body.

But the politicians, led by former Labour home secretary David Blunkett and Conservative MP Conor Burns, argue this could be detrimental to free speech, saying they were opposed "to the imposition of any form of statutory control even if it is dressed up as underpinning."

The group backs a proposal from former PCC chairman Lord Hunt and Lord Guy Black, ex-chairman of the body that finances the commission, for a "totally new" version of the regulator with increased powers.

But some campaigners say tougher rules are needed to curb newspapers' excesses.

The actor Hugh Grant, who has been campaigning for stricter press regulation and supports independent regulation - but underpinned by statute - told BBC Breakfast: "What people are campaigning for is an end to newspapers being able to regulate themselves, marking their own homework...

"We need a proper regulator, an independent regulator, meaningful, that will need some statute to oblige newspapers to sign up to it."

Downing Street has said the prime minister was "open-minded" about the future of regulation. Previously he said he intended to implement the findings of the Leveson inquiry, provided they were not "bonkers".

But the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says the coalition is preparing for the possibility that it may be divided by the report's recommendations, with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg less likely to be hostile to Lord Justice Leveson's proposals.

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Minor injuries compensation axed

26 November 2012 Last updated at 20:36 ET

Violent crime victims who suffer minor injuries will not get compensation under changes which have come into effect in England, Wales and Scotland.

Victims who suffer injuries including a broken nose, mild concussion, temporary deafness or minor burns will be among those no longer eligible.

Shopworkers' union Usdaw said many retail staff injured in armed robberies and assaults would lose out.

Ministers say the reforms will shave £50m off the annual £200m bill.

However, in 2011/12 the criminal injuries compensation bill rose to about £450m, largely caused by a backlog of payments.

BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the reforms to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme - including the scrapping of five payment levels - were the most significant since a sliding scale of payments was introduced to simplify it 16 years ago.

Usdaw said MPs who had voted for the changes should "never again have the gall" to say they put victims first.

In September, in a move hailed by Victim Support as "a turnaround", Justice Minister Helen Grant said she would reconsider the plans after the charity's protests as well as those by MPs and unions.

But when a parliamentary committee met at the start of this month, the unchanged plans were approved by nine votes to seven.

That led Labour to accuse the government of "stacking" the Seventh Delegated Legislation Committee by ensuring people on the government payroll - including four parliamentary private secretaries - turned up to vote.

The Ministry of Justice says it is "dedicated to preserving compensation to the most seriously-injured victims of crime".

"But where less serious injuries have been caused, we believe taxpayers' money is better spent providing support and help rather than what are often small payments well after the crime has been committed," a spokesperson said.

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