Queen to miss Commonwealth meeting

7 May 2013 Last updated at 07:03 ET

For the first time since 1973 the Queen will not be attending the Commonwealth heads of government meeting this year, Buckingham Palace has said.

She will be represented by Prince Charles at the summit in Sri Lanka in November.

Buckingham Palace said it was reviewing the amount of long-haul travel that is taken by the Queen.

The Queen, 87, is the head of the Commonwealth and every two years leaders meet to discuss global issues.

The Queen was first present at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM) in Ottawa, Canada, in 1973 - missing the first one in 1971 - and has been at every summit since. The last one, in 2011, was held in Perth, Australia.

'Transition'

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "I can confirm the Queen will be represented by the Prince of Wales.

"The reason is that we are reviewing the amount of long-haul travel that is taken by the Queen."

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This is a significant decision for the Queen and for her eldest son and heir.

The 87-year-old monarch won't have arrived at it lightly - she hasn't missed a heads of government meeting since 1973 and she regards the Commonwealth as an important dimension of her reign.

It is an acknowledgement of her advancing age and not, her officials insist, in order to avoid the political question about whether or not Sri Lanka should be the host in the first place.

The focus of campaigners, who are critical of Colombo's human rights record, will now be the Prince of Wales.

Behind the scenes, the ground has been prepared for him to become the organisation's next head - a position he's not automatically entitled to.

His attendance, in November, in place of his mother, will be another very visible sign of his preparation for kingship.

BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said the Queen would not have taken the decision lightly and it was both surprising and significant.

He said it was a significant moment for the Prince of Wales and it was also a symbolic move.

"It is about transition, about preparing this country for an elderly head of state who will be able to do less and less," he said.

"There is no intention of abdication. It will just not happen during her reign. It is the palace addressing the practicalities of her advancing age - you will see less of her and more of him."

By stepping in for the Queen, Prince Charles will be performing one of his most significant duties to date as a future King.

He has never before attended in place of the monarch at the two-yearly gathering of Commonwealth leaders. In 2007, both the Prince and the Queen attended CHOGM in Uganda.

The Queen was forced to cancel her appearance in March at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, the first time the monarch had missed the occasion in 20 years.

It was one of a number of engagements she cancelled after being admitted to hospital suffering from the symptoms of gastroenteritis, which can cause vomiting, fever and stomach ache.

Politically tricky

The Queen sees the Commonwealth as a "family" and takes pride in its work.

The Queen is the Commonwealth's symbolic head and has no formal powers over the 54 countries and two billion citizens which make up the voluntary association.

Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said the "family of nations completely understands and respects" the Queen's decision.

"The presence of the Prince of Wales at our Commonwealth gathering will carry forward Her Majesty's outstanding record of enduring commitment and diligent service as head of the Commonwealth," he said.

Concerns have been raised about the choice of Sri Lanka as the host nation for the 2013 summit.

Campaigners including Amnesty International are calling for the CHOGM meeting not to take place there before an investigation is carried out into human rights abuses in the final six months of the 26-year Sri Lankan civil war.

Britain is facing pressure to lead a boycott of the meeting, with Canada's government indicating it will not attend unless specific criteria are met.

But Buckingham Palace said the Queen's decision was not related to the political situation.

"The key point here is that the Queen will be represented, although she is not there in person, by the Prince of Wales," a spokesman said.

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Lord Lawson calls for UK to exit EU

7 May 2013 Last updated at 07:54 ET

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"Disadvantages of remaining in the EU outweigh any advantages"

The former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Lawson, has called for the UK to leave the European Union.

Writing in the Times, he said British economic gains from an exit "would substantially outweigh the costs".

He predicted any changes achieved by David Cameron's attempts to renegotiate the terms of the UK's relations with the EU would be "inconsequential".

But Downing Street said the prime minister remained "confident" that his strategy "will deliver results".

Mr Cameron is facing calls to bring forward a promised referendum on the UK's EU membership.

'Warm embrace'

He says he will hold a vote early in the next Parliament - should the Conservatives win the next general election - but only after renegotiating the terms of the UK's relationship with the EU.

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ANALYSIS

Cabinet ministers took to the airwaves over the weekend to pledge that draft legislation would be introduced on an EU referendum before the next election.

But if David Cameron thought that would appease those in the party who want to see a referendum sooner than 2017 he was wrong.

Now, Lord Lawson, Margaret Thatcher's long-serving chancellor, has stepped up the pressure by calling for the prime minister to lead the country out of the EU altogether.

His intervention is damaging for Mr Cameron. After losing support to UKIP in the local elections he wanted to get on the front foot over Europe.

Instead the issue has again exposed deep divisions within his party over the issue that dogged the leaderships of John Major, William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith before him.

However, Lord Lawson said any such renegotiations would be "inconsequential" as "any powers ceded by the member states to the EU are ceded irrevocably".

The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said Lord Lawson's intervention was a "big moment" in the EU debate.

The peer - who was Margaret Thatcher's chancellor for six years - voted to stay in the European Common Market, as the EU was known in 1975, but said: "I shall be voting 'out' in 2017."

He said he "strongly" suspected there would be a "positive economic advantage to the UK in leaving the single market".

Far from hitting business hard, it would instead be a wake-up call for those who had been too content in "the warm embrace of the European single market" when the great export opportunities lay in the developing world, particularly Asia.

"Over the past decade, UK exports to the EU have risen in cash terms by some 40%. Over the same period, exports to the EU from those outside it have risen by 75%," he added.

Withdrawing from the EU would also save the City of London from a "frenzy of regulatory activism", such as the financial transactions tax that Brussels is seeking to impose.

Lord Lawson said his argument had "nothing to do with being anti-European".

"The heart of the matter is that the very nature of the European Union, and of this country's relationship with it, has fundamentally changed after the coming into being of the European monetary union and the creation of the eurozone, of which - quite rightly - we are not a part.

"Not only do our interests increasingly differ from those of the eurozone members but, while never 'at the heart of Europe' (as our political leaders have from time to time foolishly claimed), we are now becoming increasingly marginalised as we are doomed to being consistently outvoted by the eurozone bloc."

'Clear timetable'

At the local elections last week, the UK Independence Party - which campaigns for the UK to leave the EU - made substantial gains, while the Conservatives lost control of 10 councils.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

As it happens, those who run our biggest companies would tend to be horrified at the idea of withdrawal from the EU."

End Quote

The UKIP surge prompted a call from senior Tory MP David Davis to bring forward the planned referendum - while other Conservatives, including former chairman Lord Tebbit, urged Mr Cameron to take steps to give the public more confidence that a referendum would indeed take place if he wins the next general election.

Reacting to Lord Lawson's comments, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The PM has always been clear: we need a Europe that is more open, more competitive, and more flexible; a Europe that wakes up to the modern world of competition. In short, Europe has to reform.

"But our continued membership must have the consent of the British people, which is why the PM has set out a clear timetable on this issue."

The BBC News Channel's chief political correspondent Norman Smith said No 10 was pointing to the UK's success in obtaining a cut in the EU's budget earlier this year as evidence that a new relationship could be secured.

However, he said Lord Lawson's comments would give major impetus to those believing the UK's future best lay outside the EU and were also significant for his critique of Mr Cameron's negotiating strategy.

'Serious divisions'

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that leaving the European Union would "make us less safe because we cooperate in the European Union to go after criminal gangs that cross borders".

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He said it could put 3m jobs at risk and made it difficult to deal with cross border threats like climate change and would also see Britain "taken less seriously in Washington, Beijing, Tokyo".

UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said Lord Lawson's intervention "legitimised" his party's longstanding argument that the UK could prosper outside the EU while exposing "serious divisions" in the Conservatives.

Former Labour Europe minister Peter Hain said he totally disagreed with EU withdrawal but believed Lord Lawson was right in suggesting David Cameron's approach could not succeed as "EU members will not agree Treaty changes".

Political commentator and Times' comment editor Tim Montgomerie told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the article would add fuel to the debate on Europe within the Conservative Party that Mr Cameron had hoped could wait until further down the line.

"Lord Lawson will give much more confidence to those people who do want to leave the EU to go public with those views," he added.

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Woman charged with triple murder

7 May 2013 Last updated at 07:59 ET

A woman has been charged with the murders of three men whose bodies were found lying in ditches.

Kevin Lee, 48, was found in a ditch in Newborough on 30 March. He died from stab wounds to the chest.

Lukasz Slaboszewski, 31, was stabbed in the heart. John Chapman, 56, was stabbed in the neck and chest. They were found at Thorney Dyke on 3 April.

Joanna Dennehy, of Peterborough, who is in her early 30s, has been charged with the three murders.

Grace Ononiwu, the chief crown prosecutor for the east of England, said Ms Dennehy, who is in her early 30s, would appear at Peterborough Magistrates Court at a later date.

Three other people have been charged in connection with the case.

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'Happy' April Jones got into vehicle

7 May 2013 Last updated at 08:08 ET

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Jon Brain reports from Mold Crown Court, where a recorded police interview with April's friend was played in court

A friend who was playing with five-year-old April Jones before she went missing told police she had a "happy face" as she got into a vehicle.

April disappeared near her home in Machynlleth, Powys, on 1 October, 2012. She has never been found.

The jury at the Mold Crown Court trial of Mark Bridger, 47, who denies her abduction and murder, has been played a police interview with April's friend.

The seven-year-old girl said a man got out of a Land Rover then April got in.

In the interview with a police officer made the day after April went missing, the girl said: "Me and her [April] were playing."

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All the windows on it were quite clean they were. The vehicle was clean but the tyres weren't"

End Quote April's friend

She said there was a "man by his van" and she described how she saw April "by the Land Rover van".

"I saw her by the person that was waiting by the van," she said.

Asked if she had seen the Land Rover there before, she said: "It looks familiar because I have seen [two other people] in it before."

Later in the interview, she said: "She [April] didn't say that she was going to go in it."

She went on to say: "The man didn't take her in the van. She got in the van having a happy face."

The interviewer asked her to draw a Land Rover and she continued to draw as the interviewer asked her questions about the vehicle.

She said the wheels "were quite big" and remembered them being muddy.

"All the windows on it were quite clean. The vehicle was clean but the tyres weren't," she said.

Asked who she saw in the Land Rover, she said: "A man."

"The man got out of the van. He was waiting outside the van for someone... I don't know why she wanted to go because her mum and dad told her not to go into cars like that," she said.

She added: "She got in the car. She wasn't crying. She was happy. She got in the back of the van and it just drove off the same way it came."

She said she did not hear any talking because "I was too far away to hear it".

The friend said April got into the vehicle through the driver's door because the two back doors were locked and "they were broken".

Asked how she knew they were broken, she said: "April tried to open them, she did, and they wouldn't work... so she had to get through that way."

"That's what I actually saw," she said.

She said April's brother arrived a few minutes later and said it was time for her to go home.

She gave April's bike to her brother and went back to their homes.

The alarm was then raised.

'Brown hair'

Describing the man, the girl said: "He had green or blue eyes, brown hair I think... I think he was wearing a jacket or a jumper... he was wearing some jeans and he was wearing some trainers..."

Asked in more detail about the man's appearance, she said: "I think he had brown hair. I'm sure he had brown hair but I'm not sure about anything else."

She said he was "definitely outside" the vehicle and was standing between the Land Rover and a BT van.

The girl has begun to give evidence via video link from Aberystwyth. Two screens in court show her watching the proceedings. She had a teddy bear on the desk in front of her.

The judge Mr Justice John Griffith Williams said: "It's very important that you tell us the truth. Will you do that?"

"Yes," she said.

Defence counsel Brendan Kelly QC began by asking a woman sat in the room with the girl to show her pictures of Bryn-Y-Gog, the estate where April lived.

Earlier, as the day's proceedings got under way the judge, Mr Justice John Griffith Williams, reassured the girl before asking her: "Can you remember some months ago, going to Newtown and being interviewed by a police officer?"

"Yes," she replied.

The judge said: "What we're going to do is, we're going to watch that film and you are going to watch it as well. It's rather long and so we'll be taking a lot of breaks, just to help you."

Mr Bridger stared up at the screen on the wall to his left. There were three security guards in the dock with him.

April's parents, Coral and Paul, were in court on Tuesday.

On Friday, the jury heard about her parents' last moments with her.

A statement from her mother read out in court said she had been allowed out to play after "a little bit of a tantrum".

Coral Jones said that after 20 minutes it was getting dark and cold so she wanted her daughter to come back into the house.

She sent April's brother to look for her and he came home in a "hysterical state" saying she had been seen getting into a car with a man.

Mrs Jones immediately called police before she and her husband Paul searched the Bryn-Y-Gog estate, where they live.

Prosecutors have told the court that the defendant killed April in a sexually motivated attack and traces of her blood were found at his cottage.

Prosecuting counsel Elwen Evans QC said the defendant burned evidence in his fire and used detergent as part of an "extensive clean-up".

But blood stains found within the cottage matched the DNA of the five-year-old, she said.

The defendant told police during interviews he accidentally hit April with his car and "panicked," the jury was told.

The accused man also denies intending to pervert the course of justice.

April's disappearance sparked the biggest police search in UK history.

The case continues.

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Missing US women found after decade

7 May 2013 Last updated at 08:08 ET

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A neighbour, Charles Ramsey, tells reporters: "We had to kick open the bottom of the door"

Three young women who vanished in separate incidents about a decade ago in the US state of Ohio have been found alive in a house in Cleveland.

Amanda Berry disappeared aged 16 in 2003, Gina DeJesus went missing aged 14 a year later, and Michelle Knight disappeared in 2002 aged around 19.

Their discovery followed a dramatic bid for freedom by Amanda Berry on Monday, helped by a neighbour.

Three brothers have been arrested in connection with the case.

City officials are to hold a news conference on Tuesday morning.

Cleveland police said the suspects are Hispanic, aged 50, 52 and 54, and one of them had lived at the house on Seymour Avenue.

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One was named as Ariel Castro, who has worked as a school bus driver.

Police have said a six-year-old was also found at the home. They have not revealed any further details, although a relative of Amanda Berry said she told him she had a daughter.

The women's families reacted with shock and delight at news of their discovery, and many people gathered outside the home where they had allegedly been imprisoned.

"It's been a whirlwind kind of day. It's surreal," said Gina DeJesus' relative, Sylvia Colon. She said the family had never given up hope, holding vigils every year and keeping memorials outside the house.

"We were living every day in the hope she would come home - and she did," she told the BBC.

Ms Colon said the women would now "need to be given some space. They have been away from us for a very long time."

A doctor said the three women were in a fair condition and were being kept in hospital for observation.

To cheers from spectators, Dr Gerald Maloney told reporters outside Metro Health hospital in Cleveland that the women were able to speak to hospital staff, but he declined to give further details.

The disappearances of Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus had been big news in Cleveland, and many had assumed them to be dead.

Little was made of the disappearance of Michelle Knight, who was older than the other two girls.

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Gina DeJesus' aunt Sandra Ruiz: "She knew we were looking for her"

Her grandmother, Deborah Knight, was quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper on Monday as saying that the authorities concluded she had run away.

'Here a long time'

The dramatic events unfolded after Amanda Berry attempted to flee the house when her alleged captor went out.

Neighbour Charles Ramsey said he heard screaming.

"I see this girl going nuts trying to get outside," he told reporters.

He said he suggested the woman open the door and exit, but she told him it was locked.

"We had to kick open the bottom," he said. "Lucky on that door it was aluminium. It was cheap. She climbed out with her daughter."

Both Mr Ramsey and Ms Berry called 911.

In her frantic call, released to the news media, Ms Berry told the operator: "I'm Amanda Berry. I've been kidnapped. I've been missing for 10 years. I'm free. I'm here now."

She identified her kidnapper as Ariel Castro and said other women were in the house.

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Mr Ramsey said he was stunned by the developments. He said he had shared barbecues with Mr Castro and never suspected a thing. "There was nothing exciting about him... well, until today," he said.

An uncle, Julio Castro, who has a shop nearby, confirmed his nephew had been arrested, and said Ariel Castro had worked as a school bus driver. The Cleveland school district confirmed he worked for them, but did not give specifics.

In an extraordinary twist, it emerged that Ariel Castro's son - also called Ariel although he now goes by his middle name Anthony - wrote an article about the disappearance of Gina DeJesus for his local newspaper in 2004.

Anthony confirmed to a journalist that he had written about the neighbourhood's heightened concern for safety in the Cleveland Plain Press, and told her that Monday's developments were "beyond comprehension".

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Charles Ramsey's 911 call after he helped free Amanda Berry

"He was stunned that something like this could possible happen," WKYC reporter Sara Shookman told CNN.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has said an investigation into the "many unanswered questions regarding this case" will be held.

High-profile cases

Ms Berry was last heard from when she called her sister on 21 April 2003 to say she would get a lift home from work at a Burger King restaurant.

In 2004, Ms DeJesus was said to be on her way home from school when she went missing.

Their cases were re-opened last year when a prison inmate tipped off authorities that Ms Berry may have been buried in Cleveland. He received a four-and-a-half-year sentence in prison for the false information.

Amanda Berry's mother, Louwana, died in March 2006, three years after her daughter's disappearance.

Although much is still not yet known about this case, it recalled a series of recent high-profile child abduction cases.

Jaycee Lee Dugard was 11 years old when she was dragged into a car as she walked to a bus stop near her home in South Lake Tahoe, California in 1991.

She was discovered in August 2009, having spent 18 years held captive in the backyard of Phillip and Nancy Garrido in Antioch, some 170 miles from South Lake Tahoe. She had two children.

In Austria, Natascha Kampusch was abducted on her way to school at the age of 10. She was held for eight years by Wolfgang Priklopil in the windowless basement of a house in a quiet suburb of Vienna.

She managed to escape in 2006 while Priklopil was making a phone call. He committed suicide hours after she had fled.

Elizabeth Smart was 14 when she was taken from the bedroom of her Utah home in June 2002 and repeatedly raped during nine months of captivity.

She was rescued in March 2003 less than 20 miles from her home. Her abductor, Brian David Mitchell, was jailed for life in 2011.

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Travellers servitude trial collapses

7 May 2013 Last updated at 08:15 ET

The case against four members of a Bedfordshire traveller family accused of keeping vulnerable men captive to work unpaid has collapsed.

Tommy Connors Sr, 53, and his sons Tommy Jr, 27, James, 25 and Patrick, 21, had denied keeping the men in servitude.

A jury at Luton Crown Court failed to reach a verdict on any of the charges against them.

The Crown Prosecution Service is considering if there will be a retrial.

The jury in the case had been deliberating for more than two days.

Judge Michael Kay told them: "The time has now come that I must discharge you on the basis that you have been trying for almost three days. Thank you for your efforts."

The court had heard homeless men were given accommodation at the Green Acres site at Little Billington, near Leighton Buzzard.

The jury heard they worked laying block paving but were threatened with violence if they asked for wages.

The family said the men were free to come and go at any time.

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'Huge progress' rebuilding Somalia

7 May 2013 Last updated at 08:18 ET

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UK PM David Cameron: "I think we'll see further progress at this conference"

UK Prime Minister David Cameron says Somalia has made "huge progress" in efforts to end more than two decades of conflict.

He is co-hosting a conference in London with Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to help the East African state rebuild itself.

Somalia is widely regarded as a failed state, hit by an Islamist insurgency, piracy and a famine from 2010 to 2012.

Mr Mohamud said the government would take full control of security by 2015.

The government - which took office last year - depends on about 18,000 African Union (AU) troops to stay in power.

Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has waged an insurgency since 2007 to seize power and still controls much of the country.

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A year ago, Afgoye was under the control of Somalia's Islamist militant group, al-Shabab, which held most of the countryside beyond Mogadishu.

But if they have lost control of many key towns these days, al-Shabab can still cause trouble.

Minutes after I'd flown into Mogadishu, a car bomb exploded up the road at a busy roundabout, killing or injuring more than 30 people.

'Government's writ'

The meeting follows similar conferences in London and the Turkish city of Istanbul last year, amid growing international concern that Somalia has turned into a haven for al-Qaeda-linked militants.

The new government is the first one in more than two decades to be recognised by the United States, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other key players who are attending the conference.

In a BBC interview, Mr Cameron said Somalia was "one of the most broken countries in the world" and the "writ of the government, as it stands today, doesn't run a long way outside Mogadishu, but at least it has a government, it's making a start and I think we're seeing some real progress".

Mr Cameron also held talks with Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is attending the conference - his first visit to a Western country since his controversial election in March.

The UK had said it would have limited contact with him, as he been charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with crimes against humanity over his alleged role in fuelling violence after the disputed 2007 election - charges he denies.

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BBC Somali's Farhan Jimale explains why Somalia matters

Mr Cameroon defended meeting Mr Kenyatta, saying he was co-operating with the ICC and Kenya was playing a vital role, along with other regional states, to beat back al-Shabab in Somalia.

Mr Mohamud told delegates that the cornerstones of a new Somalia had been laid since last year's conference.

"The political transition has ended and I stand here as the elected president of a sovereign nation," he said.

The Somali leader told the BBC that he envisaged the withdrawal of the AU force within two years.

"Soon, we are expecting to take over fully the security of Somalia," he said.

'Tackling corruption'

BBC Somalia analyst Mary Harper says Mr Mohamud appears to be optimistic, as he is little more than the president of the capital, Mogadishu.

The Somali army is made up of clan militias with questionable loyalty, she says.

Somalia is also divided into a patchwork of self-governing regions, many of them hostile to the central government.

The breakaway state of Somaliland and the semi-autonomous region of Puntland have boycotted the conference.

Somalia's government is also totally dependent on foreign aid, and has so far refused to agree to set up a joint oversight mechanism to curb corruption, our correspondent says.

Mr Mohamud said the government had laid the foundations for a new public finance management mechanism to ensure that donor money was properly spent.

Mr Cameron said the need for a joint oversight mechanism would be discussed at the conference.

"You have to do everything you can to make sure it [aid] gets through to the people who need it but it's particularly tough in a country that hasn't had a functioning government," he told the BBC.

"To be fair to the president, he has signed up to an awful lot of new measures and steps to make sure the government is transparent."

UK aid to Somalia for the next two years amounts to about £80m ($120m).

The UN estimates that nearly 260,000 people died during the famine in Somalia, which is now over.

Pirate attacks have also fallen dramatically in recent years, as international navies patrol Somalia's waters.

Rival groups have battled for control of Somalia since the overthrow of long-serving ruler Siad Barre in 1991.

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President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud says he expects the world to view Somalia through "different lenses"

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Mitchell: Evans 'should not resign'

6 May 2013 Last updated at 05:03 ET

Deputy House of Commons Speaker Nigel Evans should not resign after being arrested over rape and sexual assault allegations, says fellow Tory MP Andrew Mitchell.

Mr Evans has denied allegations he raped a man and sexually assaulted another.

He has asked to be excused from chairing debates on next week's Queen's Speech.

Mr Mitchell told the BBC his colleague should "definitely continue" in post.

The Tory MP, who himself resigned as chief whip in October over allegations he called police officers "plebs", told Radio 4's Today programme that Mr Evans had been his friend and colleague for 20 years.

"I've known him in good times and bad times and I simply do not believe these allegations that have been made about him.

"We have three deputy speakers in the House of Commons so if necessary there could be a degree of burden sharing.

"He has not been charged, he has not been found guilty and we do still live in a country where you're supposed to be innocent until you're proven guilty."

He said if Mr Evans was to be charged, that would be "a different set of circumstances" but the question was hypothetical.

'Completely false'

Mr Evans's solicitor has already said the MP does not intend to quit as deputy speaker or as an MP.

The 55-year-old was questioned on Saturday about the alleged attacks on two men between July 2009 and March 2013 in Pendleton, Lancashire, and bailed until June.

Speaking outside his home on Sunday, Mr Evans said the complaints were "completely false" and he could not understand why they have been made.

He has asked to be excused from chairing any of next week's debates on the Queen's Speech, which are expected to last for several days.

The Speaker's Office said he would be available for other duties but advised that the number of duties in parliament's first week back after recess was in any case limited.

Mr Evans, MP for Ribble Valley since 1992 - who came out as gay in 2010 - was elected as one of three Commons deputy speakers three years ago.

The deputy speaker of the house is elected by all members of the House of Commons.

As deputy he has the same power as the current speaker John Bercow when sitting; he or she controls debates and maintains discipline and also has the deciding vote in the case of a tie in the house.

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Neo-Nazi trial opens in Germany

6 May 2013 Last updated at 06:02 ET

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The BBC's Stephen Evans: "The authorities have admitted that things went wrong"

An alleged member of a German neo-Nazi cell has gone on trial in Munich in connection with a series of racially motivated murders.

Beate Zschaepe, 38, is accused of being part of the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which killed 10 people, mostly of Turkish background.

She denies the murder charges. After entering court, she stood with folded arms and turned her back on the camera.

The case sparked controversy as police wrongly blamed the Turkish mafia.

The head of Germany's domestic intelligence service was eventually forced to resign over the scandal. It also emerged that intelligence files on far-right extremists were destroyed after the cell's activities came to light.

Four male defendants are also on trial with Ms Zschaepe, facing lesser charges of having helped the NSU.

She faces life in prison if convicted.

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This police video shows alleged Neo-Nazi Beate Zschaepe in an identity parade.

Critics have accused authorities of turning a blind eye to the crimes of right-wing extremists, the BBC'S Steve Evans reports from Munich.

Officials deny this, saying mistakes occurred because the murders were spread across different regions, each with different police and security agencies.

The killings took place over a seven-year period, and none of the victims or locations was high-profile.

Execution-style killings

Ethnic Turkish community groups and anti-racism campaigners demonstrated outside the courthouse on Monday demanding justice. Some suspect the police of institutional racism, which may have helped the neo-Nazis to act with impunity, our correspondent says.

Before the trial got under way a large crowd of journalists had gathered outside, along with dozens of people hoping to get seats in the court. About 500 police officers were deployed and nearby streets were cordoned off.

Ms Zschaepe is charged with complicity in the murders of eight ethnic Turks, a Greek immigrant and a German policewoman between 2000 and 2007, as a founding member of the NSU.

She is also accused of involvement in 15 armed robberies, of arson, and of attempted murder via two bomb attacks.

Prosecutors say the aim of the execution-style killings was to spread fear among immigrants and prompt them to leave Germany.

Her lawyers say she is refusing to speak in court. Only the trial opening was broadcast, in line with German legal restrictions.

The four male defendants are:

• Ralf Wohlleben, 38, and Carsten Schultze, 33, accused of being accessories to murder in the killing of the nine men - they allegedly supplied weapons and silencers
• Andre Eminger, 33, accused of being an accessory in two of the bank robberies, in the 2004 nail-bombing in Cologne's old town that injured 22 people, and two counts of supporting a terrorist organisation
• Holger Gerlach, 39, faces three counts of supporting a terrorist organisation.

The NSU cell remained undetected until Ms Zschaepe gave herself up in November 2011, after police discovered the bodies of two of her alleged accomplices.

Uwe Mundlos, 38, and Uwe Boenhardt, 34, appeared to have shot themselves after a botched bank robbery.

After their deaths, the gun used in the murders of the 10 people was discovered.

Ms Zschaepe shared a flat in Zwickau, in the old East Germany, with the two men who were found shot dead.

The arson charge against her relates to a fire which she is alleged to have started in the flat before giving herself up. She told police she was the one they were looking for.

In addition, a video emerged showing pictures of the corpses of the victims and identifying the "organisation" behind the murders as the NSU. The video had a cartoon Pink Panther totting up the number of dead.

Only then did the authorities conclude that the killings were the work of neo-Nazis.

They had previously treated some of the families of the victims as suspects in their murders.

As a result, the trial has taken on a meaning beyond the charges in court, as it is also puts the spotlight on attitudes towards the murder of members of ethnic minority groups, our correspondent says.

An earlier start date had been set for the trial, but it was delayed for weeks amid a dispute about the seat allocations, as Turkish media were not guaranteed places.

Turkish media have now been given four seats, but several leading German newspapers missed out in the lottery, AFP news agency reports.

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Bangladesh protest clashes 'kill 15'

6 May 2013 Last updated at 07:12 ET

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Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators

At least 15 people are reported to have been killed and more than 60 hurt after police and Islamist protesters clashed in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse a Sunday protest organised by the group Hefazat-e Islam.

But there were later running battles throughout Sunday and into Monday in areas across the city.

Tens of thousands of Islamists had gathered in the city to call for stronger Islamic policies.

Rioters went on to set fire to shops and vehicles.

'Very aggressive'

Central Dhaka was reported to be calm following a day and night of violence.

Police said a ban had been imposed on all rallies and protests in the city until midnight on Monday to prevent a repeat of the clashes.

Continue reading the main story

• A tightly-knit coalition of a dozen or so Islamist groups, pushing to change Bangladesh's secular culture via imposition of what it sees as proper Islamic ways
• Rose to prominence in Feb 2013, rallying against a campaign that demanded the death penalty for an Islamist leader convicted of war crimes
• Support drawn from religious schools across Bangladesh
• Has 13-point charter of demands including exemplary punishment to those who "insult Islam".

Thousands of Islamist activists were seen fleeing the Motijheel area of Dhaka on Sunday as police moved in to take control of the area.

Having secured the business district by the early hours of Monday, the police said officers were searching for protesters hiding in nearby buildings.

The area around the city centre's largest mosque had turned into a battleground as police reacted to stone-throwing rioters with tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and truncheons.

Clashes also broke out in Kanchpur on the south-eastern outskirts of Dhaka.

There were varying reports of the number of dead and injured, but police have confirmed that two officers and a member of the security forces were among the dead in Kanchpur.

One witness who watched events unfold from a rooftop in central Dhaka said the demonstrators "were very aggressive, some people were throwing stones and the situation quickly become violent... the police had no option but to respond".

"Rioters vandalized markets and set fire to bookshops where the Holy Koran is sold. Thousands of Koran and religious books burned. They also attacked the ruling party's political office and national mosque," he told the BBC.

The bank employee, who asked not to named, said many people in Dhaka were angry about the violence, particularly as the city is still mourning the recent loss of more than 600 workers in a building collapse.

"I am Muslim and 90% of the population is Muslim too but the protesters do not represent our views," he said.

'Hang atheists'

On Sunday, crowds of protesters blocked main roads, isolating Dhaka from other parts of the country.

Dhaka's Daily Star newspaper reported that the group hired at least 3,000 vehicles, including buses, lorries and minibuses to bring demonstrators into the capital, while others travelled there by train.

Chanting "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is greatest!") and "One point! One demand! Atheists must be hanged", the activists marched down at least six main roads as they headed for Motijheel, AFP news agency reported.

Continue reading the main story

Hefazat-e Islam - a coalition of around a dozen Islamist organisations - is seeking to impose a stricter form of Islam on Bangladeshi society.

The movement, which draws its strength from the country's madrassas, or religious schools, has issued a 13-point charter of demands, including greater segregation of men and women.

Its opposition to a national development policy for women has angered women's groups.

The government, which describes Bangladesh as a secular democracy, has rejected Hefazat-e Islam's demand for a new law on blasphemy.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said current legislation was adequate.

Muslims make up nearly 90% of the country's population, with the rest mostly Hindus.

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Ex-Italian PM Giulio Andreotti dies

6 May 2013 Last updated at 07:59 ET

Giulio Andreotti, one of the most prominent political figures of post-war Italy, has died aged 94.

Mr Andreotti was Italian prime minister seven times between 1972 and 1992. He led the Christian Democrat party, which dominated Italian politics for decades.

He was dogged in later years by allegations of corruption and mafia links.

He had been seriously ill for some time, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported.

Mr Andreotti entered the Italian parliament in 1946 and remained there for more than 60 years, before seeing out his days as a senator-for-life.

He was reputed to have met the pope as an eight-year-old after sneaking away from a Vatican tour group.

He became a junior minister at the age of 28, and went on to serve as either prime minister or a senior minister in the many Christian Democratic governments that held power during the volatile

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Evidence Syria rebels 'used sarin'

6 May 2013 Last updated at 08:05 ET

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Carla del Ponte: "I was a little bit stupefied by the first indication of the use of nerve gas by the opposition"

Testimony from victims of the Syrian conflict suggests rebels have used the nerve agent sarin, according to a leading United Nations investigator.

Carla del Ponte told Swiss TV there were "strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof".

However, she said her panel had not yet seen evidence of government forces using chemical weapons.

Syria has recently come under growing Western pressure over the alleged use of such weapons.

Ms del Ponte, who serves on the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said in an interview with Swiss-Italian TV: "Our investigators have been in neighbouring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

This is not the first time rebel forces in Syria have come under suspicion for using chemical weapons.

The Syrian government has accused them, and some independent commentators have speculated some groups could conceivably have got hold of stocks when storming government facilities.

But allegations about sarin gas use, possibly by Syrian rebels, coming from a senior UN official is a different matter. Carla del Ponte is a former war crimes prosecutor and serves on a UN commission looking into human rights abuses in Syria. So any comments from her carry weight.

However, this is hardly a formal UN position. She was speaking informally in TV and radio interviews, and freely admits that looking at the use of chemical weapons in Syria is not part of her remit.

All her team did was collect testimony, which they will now, no doubt, pass on to the separate UN team of weapons inspectors waiting in Cyprus for permission to enter Syria to make a full investigation.

In the meantime her comments are likely to make Western governments even more cautious in their preliminary assessments.

"According to their report of last week, which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated."

Ms del Ponte, a former Swiss attorney-general and prosecutor with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, did not rule out the possibility that government troops might also have used chemical weapons, but said further investigation was needed.

"I was a little bit stupefied by the first indications we got... they were about the use of nerve gas by the opposition," she said.

Ms del Ponte gave no details of when or where sarin may have been used.

Her commission was established in August 2011 to examine alleged violations of human rights in the Syrian conflict since March 2011.

It is due to issue its latest report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June.

Her comments might also complicate matters for the US Secretary of State John Kerry ahead of his visit to Moscow this week, says the BBC Diplomatic correspondent, Bridget Kendall.

If he was hoping to cite fears that the Assad regime was now using chemical warfare as a reason why the Russians should shift their position, that argument will not be so easy to make, our correspondent says.

Mutual accusations

A separate United Nations team was established to look specifically into the issue of chemical weapons.

It is ready to go to Syria but wants unconditional access with the right to inquire into all credible allegations.

Continue reading the main story

What is Sarin?

• One of a group of nerve gas agents invented by German scientists as part of Hitler's preparations for World War II
• Huge secret stockpiles built up by superpowers during Cold War
• 20 times more deadly than cyanide: A drop the size of a pin-head can kill a person
• Called "the poor man's atomic bomb" due to large number of people that can be killed by a small amount
• Kills by crippling the nervous system through blocking the action of an enzyme
• Can only be manufactured in a laboratory
• Very dangerous to manufacture

Both the Syrian government and the rebels have in the past accused each other using chemical weapons.

The United States and the UK have said there is emerging evidence of Syrian government forces having used sarin, with the US saying it had "varying degrees of confidence" that chemical weapons had been deployed.

US President Barack Obama called in April for a "vigorous investigation", saying the use of such weapons would be a "game changer" if verified.

President Bashar al-Assad's government says the claims do not have any credibility, denouncing them as "lies".

Sarin, a colourless, odourless gas which can cause respiratory arrest and death, is classed as a weapon of mass destruction and is banned under international law.

Israeli raids

Ms del Ponte's allegations concerning the use of sarin by rebels came after Israel carried out a series of air attacks on Syrian military targets early on Sunday.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Israel, whether intentionally or not, has made itself a perceived ally of the Syrian rebels"

End Quote Haaretz newspaper, Israel

Israeli officials said its military struck consignments of advanced Iranian missiles for delivery to the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.

Hours later, the Syrian government said the Jamraya research centre north-west of Damascus was hit.

A more recent official statement has given more details, saying military positions in the Jamraya area were struck along with other facilities at Maysaloun near the Lebanese border and a military airport at Dimass.

The statement said there was massive damage at those locations and nearby civilian areas with many people killed or injured. It also denied that the targets included missiles on their way to Hezbollah.

The New York Times quotes an unnamed senior Syrian official as saying dozens of elite troops stationed near the presidential palace were killed, while AFP news agency quoted the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying 15 soldiers died.

Images on state TV showed large areas of rubble with many buildings destroyed or badly damaged.

The Arab League has condemned the raids and the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, has expressed concern.

He said all sides should "exercise maximum calm and restraint" and "act with a sense of responsibility to prevent an escalation of what is already a devastating and highly dangerous conflict".

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Speedboat victim was BSkyB executive

6 May 2013 Last updated at 08:06 ET

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Eyewitness video showed the moment the speedboat was brought under control

A man who died in a speedboat crash off the north Cornish coast, which also killed his daughter, was a senior executive at BSkyB.

Nick Milligan, 51, and his eight-year-old daughter were among six people thrown from the boat in the Camel Estuary, off Padstow on Sunday.

Four other family members, thought to have been hit by the boat, are in hospital with serious injuries.

The vessel was stopped after a local waterskiing instructor jumped on board.

The injured family members are thought to have been hit by the boat while it was going round in circles.

'Deeply shocked'

The four injured are a 39-year-old woman, a four-year-old boy and two girls aged 10 and 12. They suffered leg injuries of varying degrees of severity, John Oliver from South Western Ambulance Service said.

The boat is owned by the family, who are from Wandsworth in south London, and are believed to have a holiday home in the area.

Mr Milligan had been managing director of Sky's advertising sales division, Sky Media, since 2004.

A company spokesperson said: "Everyone at Sky is deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic accident involving the Milligan family.

"Nick has been a great friend and colleague for many years and his loss will be felt across our company and the industry. Our very deepest sympathies are with his family at this time."

Police and marine investigators have begun an inquiry into the incident, co-ordinated by Devon and Cornwall Police.

Supt Jim Colwell said some of the injuries were "life threatening" as well as "life changing".

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Nick has been a great friend and colleague for many years and his loss will be felt across our company and the industry"

End Quote BSkyB statement

"The key lines of enquiry are primarily witness enquiries, those eye witnesses that were at the scene at the time and have already started to provide us with information as to what the circumstances were and what the boat was doing at the time of the incident," he said.

Supt Colwell said a mechanical examination of the boat, with the involvement of the Marine Action Investigation Branch, would take place "just to make sure there were no factors to do with the vessel itself which may have caused this incident".

The sunny bank holiday weather had drawn a lot of visitors to the harbourside, and the surrounding waters of the Camel Estuary were said to have been calm on Sunday afternoon when the accident happened.

'Heroic' rescuer

At about 15:50 BST, Falmouth Coastguard received a number of reports from members of the public that six people had been thrown from a speedboat.

They reported seeing the boat "out of control for a short time" and striking some other boats, Jo Rawlings, from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, told the BBC.

Dog walker Simon Lewins, from Wadebridge, said he watched as a big, powerful boat going "a bit too fast" suddenly turned right, "depositing" people into the water.

Continue reading the main story

NICK MILLIGAN'S CAREER

• Joined the television industry in 1983 at Television South (TVS)
• Moved to Central Television in 1986 and went on to Thames Television in 1988, staying until 1992
• Was on the team which established the UK Gold and UK Living channels
• Became a founding director of Channel 5 in 1996 and stayed at the station until 2003, its first profitable year
• Became managing director of Sky Media in June 2004

Source: Media Guardian

"It kept going off in ever decreasing circles. The screams coming from the people in the water were pretty bad."

The man who leapt on to the out-of-control speedboat, from another vessel he went alongside with, was named locally as Charlie Toogood, from Camel Ski School.

It is thought Mr Toogood got a rope around the propeller of the out-of-control vessel in a bid to reduce its speed before jumping on board.

He then managed to stop it and take it away.

"I tell you what, this guy is a hero," Mr Lewins told the BBC.

Coastguards then helped some of the injured as a helicopter landed on the beach, he added.

Kill cord

The injured were being treated at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.

Matt Pavitt, the Coastguard sector manager for North Cornwall, said the injured four were "badly shaken up".

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Cornwall Coastguard Matt Pavitt : "Someone managed to get on the boat... and prevent further loss of life"

He said the 8m (26ft) long vessel had a "very, very powerful engine" and there were reports it was "seen to veer over to one side, causing all six people to end up in the water", resulting in a number of serious injuries.

Alex Greig, of Falmouth Coastguard, said safety features in such vessels usually included a so-called "kill cord".

He said: "If somebody is thrown away from the console, it should disable the engine.

"But if it's not working, or not being worn correctly, there is the chance that if you are thrown away from the boat, it will continue to move under its own power.

"The way an outboard engine works, because it hangs loose on the back of the boat, it will actually put the boat into a very tight circle and continue round at the speed it was left going at originally."

Coastguards said the was no speed limit in the area where control was lost of the boat.

Investigators appealed for anyone with photographs or video clips to come forward.

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UK block on overseas spouse pensions

6 May 2013 Last updated at 08:08 ET

People living abroad will no longer be entitled to a British state pension based solely on their spouse's work history, under government plans.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb said some of those claiming a married person's allowance had never been to the UK.

Some 220,000 overseas residents receive this payment at a cost of £410m a year.

But former Conservative Party chairman David Davis said: "We should be very very careful we don't create injustices" for future generations.

However Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that, as the current pension system is being replaced anyway, Mr Webb's planned block on payments to overseas spouses would have a limited impact.

"From 2016 onwards the state pension will be based entirely on your individual record and there will be no inheritance of state pension rights," he said.

The measure will be part of an overhaul of the state pension, to be included in the Queen's Speech on Wednesday. Existing pensioners will be unaffected.

The Pensions Bill will introduce a new flat rate pension based on individual contributions during a person's working life.

'Unfair and unsustainable'

Current rules allow spouses who haven't paid their own National Insurance contributions to claim a "married person's allowance" of up to £66 per week based on their husband or wife's history of NI contributions.

The total number of spouses receiving such payments has risen to 220,000 from 190,000 a decade ago.

While increasingly rare in Britain, the practice has become a popular option for people who live overseas and who are married to British citizens.

Mr Webb said sometimes these allowances are claimed by people who never set foot in this country, and that this was unfair and unsustainable.

Continue reading the main story

• Begins April 2016
• Worth £144 a week at current prices
• Flat rate
• 35 years of National Insurance contributions needed for full amount
• Not means tested

He told the Daily Telegraph: "Most people would think, you pay National Insurance, you get a pension. But folk who have never been here but happen to be married to someone who has are getting pensions.

"Say you are an American man and you marry a British woman, you can claim, if she has a full record of contributions, a pension of £3,500 a year for your entire retirement having never paid a penny in National Insurance.

"Most people would think that is not what National Insurance is for."

Once the pensions bill becomes law, any new claims from 2016 would be prevented.

But British pensioners and their families who currently live overseas and make such claims would not be affected.

'Unfair treatment'

Norman Cudmore, who served in the RAF for 22 years and worked overseas for another 16 years, lives in the Philippines with his Filipina wife.

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"I have contributed to the UK pension scheme for all those years and will qualify for a state pension. I did this so my wife would have some security when I finally pass away," he told the BBC.

"However, now I am being told this will not be the case. It feels the government are not treating their people fairly. It seems to be one rule for those living in the UK and one for those who have left."

The government's overhaul of the state pension system will see a single-tier pension - of £144 a week at today's prices - being paid to every qualifying new pensioner from April 2016 at the earliest.

While many people will gain as a result of any changes, some who currently pay into a second state pension - which is being abolished - will lose out.

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Historian sorry for 'gay' remark

4 May 2013 Last updated at 18:02 ET

Harvard history professor Niall Ferguson has apologised for saying the economist John Maynard Keynes did not care about society's future because he was gay and had no children.

Prof Ferguson, born in Scotland, made the comments at a conference in California on Thursday.

Mr Keynes was an influential British economist who died in 1946.

Prof Ferguson has now apologised "unreservedly" for what he called "stupid" and "insensitive" remarks.

He was asked to comment on Mr Keynes's famous observation of "in the long run we are all dead".

In unscripted remarks during a question and answer session, the high-profile historian and writer said Mr Keynes was indifferent to the long run because he had no children, and that he had no children because he was gay.

'Detest prejudice'

But in a statement posted on his website, he said it was obvious that people who do not have children also care about future generations. The historian also insisted he was not homophobic.

"My disagreements with Keynes's economic philosophy have never had anything to do with his sexual orientation," he wrote.

"It is simply false to suggest, as I did, that his approach to economic policy was inspired by any aspect of his personal life. As those who know me and my work are well aware, I detest all prejudice, sexual or otherwise."

In 1926, Mr Keynes married Lydia Lopokova, a Russian ballerina, and Prof Ferguson also said he had forgotten that she had miscarried.

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'No change of course' says Hague

5 May 2013 Last updated at 04:05 ET

Foreign Secretary William Hague says the Conservative Party does not need a "drastic change of course" despite its poor showing in local election results last week.

He was responding to a surge in support for the UK Independence Party, which won over 140 seats.

He wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that Tories shared voter concerns about immigration, welfare and living costs.

The elections saw the Tories lose control of 10 councils but retain 18.

UKIP averaged 25% of the vote in the wards where it was standing in Thursday's elections. Labour gained two councils and boosted its councillors by nearly 300.

Contests took place in 27 English county councils and seven unitary authorities, as well as in Anglesey. About 2,300 council seats were up for grabs in England, in a major mid-term test for the coalition government.

Mr Hague said that while the election results "are better for the government than is usual in the middle of a parliament... they do show that there is a good deal of dissatisfaction and unhappiness in the country, in particular among some traditional Conservative supporters".

"These people are sending a clear message to the government I serve in," he added.

Mr Hague said that the results required a "threefold response" from the Conservative Party.

No 'shortcuts'

Firstly, he said, it must "underline to all those feeling aggrieved that we don't simply 'understand' how they feel - on immigration, on welfare, on bringing down the cost of living - we feel it too."

And the party needs to "relay much more forcefully how we're acting in all these areas", he says.

"The deficit has been cut by a third and 1.25 million new private sector jobs have been created. We have brought in a cap on benefits.

"We have pledged a referendum on Europe. These are the things we came into government to do for the country - and we must shout about them even louder."

'Badly off-track'

Mr Hague also said that the "important" third response must be "a resolve not to fall into the trap of lowest common denominator politics".

"People are tired of bad news. Many want to hear that there's a Plan B or C or D that is a shortcut to success. But to offer shortcuts that will not work would be to cheat the British people, offering them a dead end - and frankly it is patronising them too.

"The truth is there are no easy ways out for our country."

Meanwhile, former Conservative chairman Lord Tebbit has called on the Conservatives to set a date for an EU referendum as part of efforts to win back voters from UKIP.

Lord Tebbit also said Tory policy was "badly off track" and needed a rethink.

He urged Mr Cameron to look at UKIP's policies and consider which were "really Conservative policies that would be attractive to the party and its traditional voters".

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UKIP 'here to stay', says Farage

5 May 2013 Last updated at 06:08 ET

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UKIP leader Nigel Farage is questioned on policies on the Andrew Marr Show

The UK Independence Party is "fundamentally changing British politics" with its goal of "getting our country back", Nigel Farage has said.

The UKIP leader said the party was "here to stay" and offered a change from existing parties which were almost "merged" in terms of their policies.

There have been Tory calls to change course to win back voters who switched to UKIP in England's local elections.

But Mr Farage said UKIP took votes from Labour and Lib Dems, not just Tories.

"We are the party with the broadest appeal across the country: north, south, east and west, old Labour voters, rural Tory voters, we are a genuinely national political party," he told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show.

"Now, to succeed in Westminster in 2015 we've got to grow and build a lot from here - but please don't think that it's impossible and I promise you this, UKIP is here to stay."

Draft bill

The UK Independence Party, whose main policy is for the UK to leave the European Union, gained about 25% of votes in the council seats it contested in England's local elections on Thursday.

Mr Farage said that the party's rise to having 147 local councillors gave the party a "bridgehead" to show what it can do.

There have been calls for the Conservatives to harden their commitment to a referendum on UK membership of the EU.

Conservative cabinet minister Philip Hammond said he hoped there would be a draft bill on a referendum ahead of the next general election.

Former Tory chairman Lord Tebbit also called for a date to be set for the referendum David Cameron has promised if the party wins the next election.

Mr Farage was asked whether a Conservative referendum pledge - and other policy changes - could lead to a deal being done between the two parties.

An indulgence

He said: "They're talking about it, but they don't mean it - and everyone knows that.

"You know, Mr Cameron set the course of this coalition government, indeed his own leadership since 2005 has been pro-EU, pro-open door immigration and pro-building wind turbines all over our green and pleasant land.

"He's not going to U-turn on all of those things, if he does, well, good luck to him. But please don't think that UKIP is just some little pressure group that will go away because someone in Downing Street starts singing the same song."

Foreign Secretary William Hague said that, from his experience campaigning for the local elections, people wanted a government which was doing the things currently being done - tackling the deficit, cutting immigration and capping welfare.

He said the government had to make sure that message was put across clearly.

He added, on Sky News' Murnaghan programme, that voting in the general election would not be "an indulgence" as it was for some voters in local elections - it would be a choice of who was going to run the country.

UKIP was the current "vehicle for the protest vote", as a variety of parties had been over the past 30 years, he said.

Deputy Lib Dem leader Simon Hughes said the Lib Dems had to take UKIP seriously and that the coalition was taking action on issues such as immigration.

But Mr Hughes said his party had done better in the local elections than in the previous two years and that they would continue to make the case that UK membership of the European Union was a "net plus for Britain", and also push the positives of immigration.

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Polls close in tight Malaysian vote

5 May 2013 Last updated at 07:05 ET

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Jonathan Head reports from a polling station queue in Kuala Lumpur, where he says there was an ''unprecedented turnout''

Voting has ended in Malaysia in what is widely expected to be the most closely contested general election in the country's history.

PM Najib Razak's Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition is up against Pakatan Rakyat, a three-party alliance headed by Anwar Ibrahim.

Voters were faced with returning the ruling party, in power for 56 years, or choosing an untested opposition.

Ahead of the polls, allegations of various forms of fraud emerged.

It will be several hours before the first results are known, the BBC's Jonathan Head reports from the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We hope for a change of government"

End Quote Karunamoorthy Malaysian voter

At polling stations in the city, there was a palpable sense of excitement among the many voters there who support the opposition coalition, he adds. Some said this was the first time they felt their votes had mattered.

But Barisan Nasional has been campaigning very hard to shore up its base among poorer ethnic Malay neighbourhoods and in rural areas, and opinion polls suggest a very close race.

'People do change'

Election officials said they expected voter turnout to be up to 80%.

Barisan Nasional, while credited with bringing economic development and political stability, has also been tainted by allegations of corruption.

But it remains to be seen whether Mr Anwar's coalition, comprising parties of different ethnicities and religions, can persuade voters to choose an alternative government.

Mr Najib, 59, said he was confident that Malaysians would retain his coalition and even return the two-thirds parliamentary majority Barisan Nasional lost in the 2008 polls.

During the last four years, he said during a campaign rally on Thursday, the coalition had proved it could "protect and benefit all Malaysians".

"The task of transformation is not over yet," he told supporters in his home state of Pahang on Saturday.

Mohamed Rafiq Idris, a car business owner waiting to vote in the central state of Selangor, told the Associated Press news agency the ruling coalition had made "some mistakes" but he believed it would do its best to take care of the people's welfare.

But first-time voter Bernie Lim, a banker, said: "I grew up recognising that my parents voted for the present coalition at almost every general election. This time, they voted for the opposition. People do change."

Ethnic Indian voter Karunamoorthy told BBC News in the capital: "We hope for a change of government. There needs to be a change because of abuse of power."

Mr Anwar, 65, has said people's clamour for change means that Pakatan Rakyat will emerge victorious.

Continue reading the main story

Malaysia 2013 polls

• Election is expected to be Malaysia's most keenly contested poll since independence
• PM Najib Razak leads the long-dominant coalition Barisan Nasional (National Front)
• Anwar Ibrahim leads the three-party opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat
• Key issues include corruption, race-based policies that favour Malays and the economy

"People have enough of this semi-authoritarian rule, of complete [government] control of the media, of strong arrogance, of power and endemic corruption," he told AP in an interview.

He advised supporters "to remain calm, not to be provoked, not to take the law into their own hands, support the process".

"Unless there's a major massive fraud tomorrow - that is our nightmare - we will win," he told AFP news agency.

Online drive

Allegations of election fraud surfaced before the election. Some of those who voted in advance told BBC News that indelible ink - supposed to last for days - easily washed off.

"The indelible ink can be washed off easily, with just water, in a few seconds," one voter, Lo, told BBC News from Skudai.

Another voter wrote: "Marked with "indelible ink" and voted at 10:00. Have already cleaned off the ink by 12:00. If I was also registered under a different name and ID number at a neighbouring constituency, I would be able to vote again before 17:00!"

The opposition has also accused the government of funding flights for supporters to key states, which the government denies.

Independent pollster Merdeka Center has received unconfirmed reports of foreign nationals being given IDs and allowed to vote.

The international organisation Human Rights Watch said there had been well-planned attacks against the country's independent media ahead of the polls.

Both sides actively engaged the electorate online, especially the country's 2.6 million new voters, the BBC's Jennifer Pak reports from Kuala Lumpur.

Visiting the social media unit for PKR, one of the opposition parties, she found activists posting messages to encourage people to vote despite heavy rain in some regions.

Most traditional media in Malaysia are linked to the governing parties so opposition parties rely almost exclusively on the internet to get their message out, she says.

"This is our only way to get our message out but, even then, we do struggle," said activist Praba Ganesan. "Our Facebook account this morning was attacked, we had to remove content, we had to fix it. There are fears that things are being compromised."

Officially, just 18 foreign electoral observers are in Malaysia. They are joined by 1,200 local observers from 17 non-governmental organisations.

The electoral commission said on Saturday that the foreign observers comprised six each from Indonesia and Thailand, and two each from Burma, Cambodia and the Asean secretariat.

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Damascus 'hit by Israeli strikes'

5 May 2013 Last updated at 07:16 ET

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Syrian journalist Alaa Ebrahim describes the attack as like 'a mild earthquake'

Syria has accused Israel of launching rocket attacks on Damascus, after a night of huge explosions near the city.

Syrian state media said the rockets hit the Jamraya research centre, which Western officials have suggested is involved in chemical weapons research.

Israeli radio quoted a senior security official confirming an attack, and sources said it targeted weapons bound for Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

It is the second suspected Israeli strike in Syria in two days.

On Friday Israeli aircraft hit a shipment of missiles near the Lebanon border, according to unnamed US and Israeli officials.

The BBC's Yolande Knell in Jerusalem says the latest developments are a significant escalation in Israel's involvement in the conflict.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Two air strikes in 48 hours does indeed start to look perilously like the involvement in Syria's internal crisis the Israelis have always said they want to avoid, especially when they are visibly taking out military targets on the very edge of Damascus.

Politically such attacks strengthen the Syrian regime in regional and domestic terms, and embarrass the rebels, who are cast as actors in a Western-directed plot to undermine resistance to Israel.

Israel has said that its only concern is to prevent advanced weapons being handed over to Hezbollah. Objectively it would be hard to see Israel's interest in helping trigger an uncontrolled collapse of the regime, leaving the field open to rebel groups among which Islamist radicals currently make the running.

But if the Friday and Sunday attacks herald a pattern of mounting Israeli involvement, it may be increasingly hard to keep the two strands separate.

She says Israel has already responded to fears of retaliation by locating two batteries of its Iron Dome missile defence system near Haifa, close to the Lebanese border.

'Mild earthquake'

Damascus was shaken by repeated explosions coming from the north-western suburbs.

Amateur video footage and eye witness testimony suggested rocket attacks had hit weapons dumps, triggering dramatic orange-flamed blasts.

The area houses numerous military facilities, including the Jamraya research centre, designated by Syria as a scientific research centre "in charge of raising our level of resistance and self-defence".

A state TV bulletin said: "The new Israeli attack is an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorist groups, which have been reeling from strikes by our noble army."

Damascus-based journalist Alaa Ebrahim told the BBC it was "the biggest explosion" the city had seen since the conflict began two years ago.

He said residents living near Jamraya reported feeling a "mild earthquake" just before the blast, indicating that the rockets may have hit an underground facility.

Continue reading the main story

Media reaction

• According to Syria's Sana state news agency: "The new Israeli aggression shows the direct involvement of the Zionist entity in the conspiracy against Syria and the relationship that links the armed terrorist groups with the Israeli hostile schemes backed by the Western, regional and some Gulf states."
• Iran's Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi is quoted by Fars news agency reacting to Friday's attack: "The inhuman acts and adventurism of the Zionist regime will strengthen the waves of anti-Zionism in the region and will shorten the life of this fake regime."
• A writer with Israel's Walla website notes that "common sense would seem to mandate" the attack on Syrian targets. However, he notes that admission of the attack from Syrian state media and the Lebanese militant group must raise fear about retaliation.

He added that the Syrian army was likely to have suffered major casualties in the attack.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quoted eyewitnesses in the area as saying they saw jets in the sky at the time of the explosions.

The Jamraya facility was also apparently hit in an Israeli air strike in January.

Israeli officials confirmed the January strike, but insisted it had targeted trucks carrying missiles to Hezbollah.

After the latest attack, unnamed Western intelligence sources have again said the target was a weapons cache heading for Lebanon.

Israel has repeatedly said it would act if it felt advanced weapons were being transferred to militant groups in the region, especially Hezbollah.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Israeli military analysts are already warning of the danger of war, as what promises to be a long hot summer fast approaches"

End Quote

'Horrific reports'

Analysts say the air strikes are unlikely to have a major effect on the civil war in Syria.

The latest reports from coastal regions around the town of Baniyas suggest dozens of Sunnis have been massacred in a campaign of sectarian cleansing.

The government said it had pushed back "terrorist groups" and restored security to the area.

The US said it was "appalled by the horrific reports" but that it did not foresee sending US troops to Syria.

However, the US is no longer ruling out supplying weapons to the rebels.

More than 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed since the conflict erupted in March 2011.

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BBC inquiry to probe Hall claims

5 May 2013 Last updated at 07:26 ET

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Lord Patten: "We have to... satisfy people that we've been prepared to deal with our own dirty washing"

All claims relating to broadcaster Stuart Hall will be investigated by the inquiry into BBC culture and practices set up following the Savile scandal, BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten says.

News reports have claimed fellow BBC staff may have helped Hall, who has admitted indecently assaulting 13 girls, gain access to victims.

He said the claims were "appalling" but that a separate inquiry would not help.

Former Appeal Court judge Dame Janet Smith is leading the review.

Continue reading the main story

What we have to do is to provide answers which will satisfy people that we have been prepared to deal with our own dirty washing"

End Quote Lord Patten BBC Trust Chairman

It was set up in the wake of revelations of sexual abuse by former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile and is designed to examine whether culture and practices at the corporation during the 60s, 70s and 80s enabled abuse to continue unchecked.

On Thursday, Linda McDougall, a former colleague of Hall's, told the BBC he was "one of these people who had his hands all over you".

The political writer worked with the presenter at BBC Manchester in the late 60s and 70s. She recalled how he occupied a private room in the building and it was common knowledge that he would entertain female visitors there.

Newspaper reports have also included allegations that BBC staff helped Hall abuse his victims, including on BBC premises.

'Dirty washing'

Responding to the claims on the BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, Lord Patten said: "If that was the case - and Janet Smith is looking at it - then we want to see that evidence, we want to get it out in public and get it out in that way because it is intolerable."

But he added: "I think to set up a new inquiry, when there is already one which is extremely well-resourced operating would probably delay arriving at the truth.

"If we need to do more, we will. At the end of the day, what we have to do is to provide answers which will satisfy people that we have been prepared to deal with our own dirty washing."

Asked by guest presenter Jeremy Vine whether the BBC faced paying compensation to Hall's victims, Lord Patten said: "I imagine so, but that will be a matter for the lawyers and conceivably the courts."

He declined to estimate the cost of compensation, saying: "I think it would be incredible to be able to do that now because first of all what needs to happen is that we need to be able to get a grip on what happened and of course, in the meantime, co-operate with the police."

He went on: "It's a different case from the Savile case because the main person who is alleged to have committed these crimes, who has committed these crimes... is actually alive."

Hall admitted 14 charges of indecently assaulting girls, one aged nine, in May.

The 83-year-old, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to the offences, involving 13 victims, which occurred between 1967 and 1985.

The ex-host of the BBC game show It's a Knockout was bailed and is due to be sentenced on 17 June.

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Tory MP Evans denies rape claim

5 May 2013 Last updated at 08:18 ET

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Nigel Evans: "I'd like to thank my colleagues, friends and members of the public who've expressed their support and, like me, a sense of incredulity."

Deputy House of Commons Speaker Nigel Evans has denied allegations against him as "completely false", after being arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault.

The 55-year-old Conservative MP for Ribble Valley has been questioned about alleged attacks on two men.

But in a statement to journalists on Sunday, Mr Evans expressed his "sense of incredulity at these events".

His solicitor said he did not intend to quit as deputy speaker or as an MP.

Lancashire Police said on Saturday that a 55-year-old man had been arrested and questioned all day by officers.

The alleged offences took place between July 2009 and March 2013 in Pendleton, Lancashire, they said.

Mr Evans has been bailed until 19 June.

'Obviously shocked'

Addressing reporters outside his home, he said: "Yesterday I was interviewed by police concerning two complaints - one of which dates back four years.

He added: "The complaints are completely false and I cannot understand why they have been made, especially as I have continued to socialise with one as recently as last week."

He went on to thank police for their sensitive handling of the matter, as well as colleagues, friends and members of the public who had "expressed their support and, like me, a sense of incredulity at these events".

Prime Minister David Cameron has been made aware of the arrest, it is understood.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told the BBC he had been "shocked" by the allegations about Mr Evans.

"I know Nigel well, I have known him for years. I'm obviously as shocked as everybody else is," he told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show.

Mr Hammond added it could be "very difficult" for the MP to continue as deputy speaker while the matter was being investigated.

"I think that is essentially a question the speaker will have to consider," he said.

'Shell-shocked'

Mr Evans, MP for Ribble Valley since 1992, was elected one of three Commons deputy speakers three years ago.

In more than two decades in Parliament, the Swansea-born MP - who came out as gay to a Sunday newspaper in 2010 - has held some senior posts in the party.

From 1999 to 2001, he was vice-chairman of the Conservative Party. Then, when Iain Duncan Smith became party leader in 2001, he was promoted to shadow Welsh secretary - a post he held for two years.

Michael Ranson, chairman of the Ribble Valley Conservative Association, said people in the constituency were "completely shell-shocked".

"He is a very popular MP and a very good constituency MP. He's given assistance to a lot of his constituents over many years," he told Sky News.

The deputy speaker of the house is elected by all the members of the House of Commons.

Mr Evans is one of three deputies who preside over Commons debates when John Bercow, the current speaker, is not there.

A deputy has the same powers as the speaker when sitting; he or she controls debates and maintains discipline and also has the deciding vote in the case of a tie in the house.

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Care homes face financial checks

3 May 2013 Last updated at 19:00 ET

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Nadra Ahmed, National Care Association: "It's not just the top 50 we need to look at"

Large providers of care homes in England are to have their financial records regularly scrutinised in future to spot potential business problems.

Under the government's plans, the Care Quality Commission and local authorities will also ensure care continues if a company does go bust.

It comes after provider Southern Cross collapsed, causing distress and anxiety to its residents and their families.

Care minister Norman Lamb said the move would give reassurance to people.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) will start to make checks on between 50 and 60 of the largest care companies in England, including those that provide care in a person's home.

CQC chief executive David Behan said the measures - to be set out in new legislation - would provide early warning of potential company failures in the care industry.

The CQC will have the power to:

• Require regular financial and relevant performance information
• Make the provider submits a "sustainability plan" to manage any risk to the organisation's operation
• Commission an independent business review to help the provider to return to financial stability
• Get information from the provider to help manage a company collapse

The Department of Health said the powers would bring care in to line with other services such as hospitals and holiday operators, which have procedures to check on the "financial health" of organisations.

Continue reading the main story

The fear and upset that the Southern Cross collapse caused to care home residents and families was unacceptable"

End Quote Norman Lamb Care and Support Minister

In the case of the collapse of a national provider the effects would be felt in many parts of the country, so it would be unfair for local councils to have to deal with the problem, the department said.

Mr Lamb said: "Everyone who receives care and support wants to know they will be protected if the company in charge of their care goes bust.

"The fear and upset that the Southern Cross collapse caused to care home residents and families was unacceptable.

"This early warning system will bring reassurance to people in care and will allow action to be taken to ensure care continues if a provider fails."

Southern Cross, the country's biggest care provider, had thousands of elderly residents at more than 750 care homes across the UK when it collapsed in 2011.

The firm was brought down by having to pay a £250m rent bill as local authorities made cuts.

After its collapse, other operators had to step in to take over the care of more than 30,000 people.

BBC social affairs correspondent Michael Buchanan said in that case nobody had to leave their care home because other companies took them over, but the government has been keen to ensure such a collapse is not repeated.

A report earlier this week said the number of care homes going bust had almost doubled in the past two years, with the level of fees that local authorities were willing to pay being blamed.

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Towns rewarded for High Street ideas

4 May 2013 Last updated at 03:38 ET

Seven communities in England are to share £1m of government cash for injecting life into their high streets.

It is the latest in a series of initiatives in the wake of retail guru Mary Portas's review into how to rejuvenate struggling town centres.

Rotherham won the top award, £268,058, for bringing in independent shops.

Other awards given by a panel of business groups went to Ipswich, Market Rasen, Gloucester, Altrincham, Herne Hill in south London, and Southampton.

Local Growth Minister Mark Prisk said the seven areas were a "shining example" to communities across the country.

"It is in everyone's interests to see our town centres thrive, and I want people across the country to take inspiration from these towns and look at what can be done when communities work together," he said.

The High Street Renewal Awards aimed to recognise areas "already delivering the most effective and innovative plans to bring their town centres back to life".

But Clare Rayner, from the Support for Independent Retail Campaign, told BBC Radio 5 live the divided money would not go far enough.

"The increase in business rates alone has cost the High Street in the UK £175m in increased taxes, so they're taking that away and giving another million back," she said.

Increase in customers

The judging panel, which allocated the award, visited the towns and cities applying for the fund to evaluate their work.

It gave:

• £93,057 to Herne Hill market in South London which set up its site and pedestrian zone from scratch in less than a year
• £88,657 to Old Northam Road in Southampton, where a public-private partnership is turning a Victorian shopping street into a regional antiques centre
• £148,057 to the Altrincham Forward group in Greater Manchester where landlords and retailers are working together to bring empty shops back into use
• £168,057 to Ipswich which is linking its historic shopping area to a new waterfront development and turning an empty department store into a leisure complex
• £101,057 to Market Rasen in Lincolnshire which is setting up community shops selling regional products
• £133,057 to Gloucester, for using tourism to attract more business and boost trade.

Rotherham Town Centre is basing its strategy on the idea that independent shops "help differentiate the town centre offer from that of its nearest competitors". It is said to have seen a 12% increase in customers last year.

Last year, another government initiative following Ms Portas's review saw some 27 areas including Margate, Croydon and Morecambe receive funding and advice from retail experts.

However, Freedom of Information requests seen by the BBC in March revealed that just 12% of money from the first tranche of £1.2m had been spent, while pilot towns had spent only 13% of another £1.5m tranche in July.

Ms Rayner told the BBC: "A lot of people would say that's fine - they're taking their time, they're being cautious. But actually, there were statements made in the Portas review in December 2011 which said there was a real need for urgent action.

"Grant Shapps, former higher street minister… said that these pilots would be the 'vanguard of a high street revolution'. There's not much of a revolution taking place if none of the projects that they proposed are happening."

It also emerged in March that the government's £10m High Street Innovation Fund - set up in 2012 in response to the Portas review - had barely been touched, with just 7% of the money spent so far.

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