'Sharp rise' in sexual abuse calls

31 August 2013 Last updated at 04:44 ET

A children's charity has said it has seen a sharp rise in the number of reported cases of sexual abuse.

The NSPCC said calls to its 24-hour advice line in June and July were nearly twice as high as in 2012.

The organisation put it down to a heightened state of awareness of the problem of child abuse following the Jimmy Savile scandal.

People now seemed to be better equipped and more confident in reporting their concerns, it added.

The NSPCC said more people were using its helpline, 11 months since the allegations against Savile first emerged.

During June and July there were 594 referrals to the NSPCC's call centre compared with 323 at the same time the previous year - an 84% increase.

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John Cameron, NSPCC: "Trust your instincts. If you're slightly uncertain about anything, call us"

All of these cases were passed on to police and social services.

The charity put the increase down to a heightened awareness of child sex offences and said the Savile scandal had changed the way the public reacted to abuse.

John Cameron, head of the helpline, said: "The number of calls we took this summer was significantly higher than last year.

"There appears to be a clear shift and the public now seem better equipped and more confident to report their concerns.

"It's very encouraging to see that adults, including those who don't have direct responsibility for children, take action if they think a child is at risk.

"The Savile scandal has shocked the nation but has also increased public awareness of how difficult it is for children to speak out and how crucial it is for adults to report any suspicions or concerns they have straight away."

Mr Cameron also told Radio 4's Today programme in addition to people taking more responsibility, they also had a greater degree of confidence in children's services and the police.

He said 99.9% of calls to the NSPCC were from people with "genuine concerns" and it was "very rare indeed" for people to misuse the service.

Most calls come from neighbours who suspected sexual abuse in their area, he added.

Allegations which surfaced late last year against former BBC DJ Savile over 50 years prompted hundreds of people to come forward with accounts of abuse by him and others.

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Briton arrested over death in Spain

31 August 2013 Last updated at 06:32 ET

A British man has been been arrested on suspicion of killing his father at a Spanish camping site, Spanish media reports say.

The 45-year-old was said to have been held in L'Estartit, a seaside town on the Costa Brava, on Friday morning.

His father, 69, was taken to hospital but died, triggering a murder investigation by Catalan police.

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the death of a British national and the arrest of another.

It said it was providing consular assistance.

Local reports said the incident took place at the Castell Montgri campsite, which is named after a nearby medieval castle.

Police were alerted by the site's night duty security guard, the El Punt Avui newspaper's website said.

It said the 69-year-old was taken to Josep Trueta hospital in Girona with "severe head wounds" and other injuries.

It is not thought any weapons were used in the attack.

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Obama 'respects' PM's Syria approach

31 August 2013 Last updated at 06:53 ET

US President Barack Obama has said he fully respects David Cameron's approach after Parliament blocked UK involvement in possible military action in Syria.

The men spoke by phone for 15 minutes, and the tone of the conversation was said to be friendly.

The UK prime minister reiterated he still wanted a strong response to the suspected chemical weapons attack.

According to Downing Street, Mr Obama said he had not yet decided what action the US would take over Syria.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The prime minister made clear that he strongly believes in the need for a tough and robust response to the appalling war crime committed by the Assad regime in Ghouta.

"The PM explained that he wanted to build a consensual approach in Britain for our response and that the government had accepted the clear view of the House against British military action.

"President Obama said he fully respected the PM's approach and that he had not yet taken a decision on the US response."

Foreign Secretary William Hague said US Secretary of State John Kerry had thanked him for the UK's "steadfast friendship", and they were united on ending the Syria conflict and use of chemical weapons.

The White House believes President Bashar al-Assad's regime was responsible for the chemical attack on 21 August which it says killed 1,429 people in the Ghouta suburb of Damascus - a figure far higher than previously reported.

"We know rockets came only from regime-controlled areas and landed only in opposition-held areas," Mr Kerry said earlier.

"All of these things we know, the American intelligence community has high confidence."

Ministers ruled out British involvement in any military action on Thursday evening after MPs blocked a government motion which called for military action if it was backed up by evidence from the UN weapons inspectors.

Despite the result of the vote, the US said it would continue to seek a coalition for military intervention, while France said the vote did not change its resolve about the need to act.

The president and prime minister agreed the US and UK would work closely together on a wider response to the Syrian crisis and try to find a solution.

Russia - which has close ties with the the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - welcomed the UK's rejection of a military strike, while Germany has ruled out participation in any action.

'Whole region' threatened

Meanwhile, Number 10 said it was "not too worried" by the absence of the UK from a roll call of allies in Mr Kerry's speech earlier.

Mr Kerry made a point of describing France as America's "oldest ally" while not mentioning the UK.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The president stressed his appreciation of his strong friendship with the prime minister and of the strength, durability and depth of the special relationship between our two countries. They agreed that their co-operation on international issues would continue in the future."

Mr Cameron said in an interview on Friday it was a "regret" that he had been unable to build a consensus on the response to the suspected chemical weapons attack.

However, he insisted the UK remained "deeply engaged" on the world stage.

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Ian Pannell: The victims "arrived like the walking dead"

The inspectors have finished their investigation and are expected to deliver their preliminary findings to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon on Saturday.

Meanwhile in Syria, the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen said he had spoken to people inside President Assad's administration who were "cock-a-hoop" at the UK vote. "They believe it counts as a victory for them," he added.

"We will defend ourselves," Dr Bassam Abu Abdullah from the Syrian Information Ministry said, warning of danger "not only on the Syrian people but... the whole region" if the US decided to attack.

But Mr Cameron vowed to "continue to take a case to the United Nations", adding: "We will continue to work in all the organisations we are members of - whether the EU, or Nato, or the G8 or the G20 - to condemn what's happened in Syria.

"It's important we uphold the international taboo on the use of chemical weapons."

There had been suggestions from ministers, including Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond, that Britain's rejection of military action would harm its relationship with the US.

Mr Hammond warned against the vote allowing Britain to "turn into a country that prefers to turn its back".

"We must stay engaged with the world," he told the BBC.

In other developments:

• The BBC witnessed the aftermath of an incendiary bomb attack on a school playground in northern Syria which left scores of children with napalm-like burns
• The US said it would act in its "best interests" in dealing with the Syria crisis, following UK rejection of military intervention
• French President Francois Hollande said all options were being considered, and has not ruled out a strike within days
• UN weapons inspectors visited a hospital in a government-controlled area of Damascus
• The Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to Lebanon because of a "heightened risk of anti-Western sentiment" linked to the possibility of military action in Syria. The BBC understands that the families of British diplomats are being evacuated
• Former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans - architect of the so-called "responsibility to protect" doctrine - accused the UK of "making things up as it goes along". He blamed the government's "mishandling of the politics" for what he said was a "disappointing" vote against intervention
• The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said there was "no doubt" President Assad's forces carried out the chemical attack

Labour leader Ed Miliband told the BBC: "I think ill thought-through military action would have made life worse, not better, for the Syrian people."

He accused the government of not learning the lessons of Iraq, adding MPs had "sent a message" that British forces would not be deployed "without going through the United Nations and without ensuring we have regard to the consequences in the region".

Earlier he said Mr Cameron was guilty of "reckless and impulsive leadership".

And the prime minister faced criticism from his own side, with former shadow home secretary David Davis accusing him of making a "shaky argument" for intervention.

"There was feeling of rushing to action," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme. "It's more important to get this right than to do it on a 10-day timetable".

Labour shadow frontbencher Diane Abbott said Mr Miliband best reflected the views of the British people on military action in Syria.

She told the BBC: "Unilateral American bombing and military action in the Middle East does not work, it only makes the killing and the slaughter worse.

"Any military intervention has to be genuinely international and the UN is the only means to do that."

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown, meanwhile, has been critical of the decision to not take part in military action, saying the UK was "hugely diminished".

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died since the conflict erupted in March 2011 and at least 1.7 million refugees displaced.

The violence began when anti-government protests during the Arab Spring uprisings were met with a brutal response by the Syrian security forces.

President Assad's regime has blamed foreign involvement and armed gangs for the conflict.

How could a potential strike be launched? Forces which could be used against Syria:

• Four US destroyers - USS Gravely, USS Ramage, USS Barry and USS Mahan - are in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles. The missiles can also be fired from submarines, but the US Navy does not reveal their locations

• Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan, could be used to carry out strikes

• Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region

• French aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean

• French Raffale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAE

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Delhi gang rape teenager convicted

31 August 2013 Last updated at 06:55 ET

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Shilpa Kannan outside the court says the sentence could include community service or employment

A teenager has been found guilty of taking part in the fatal gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus last year.

He was convicted on charges of rape and murder over the crime, committed when he was aged 17.

The teenager, who cannot be named, has been sentenced to three years in a reform facility, the maximum term possible for a juvenile.

He had denied the charges, as do four adult men also on trial for the same attack.

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

The narrow lane outside the juvenile court in Delhi was packed with journalists, policemen and onlookers - an illustration of just how closely followed this case has been.

The teenager was brought to the court in a police van and led in, his face covered in a towel. Nearly six hours later the verdict was pronounced, leading to chaotic scenes outside.

The parents of the victim came out, her mother in tears, and said they were deeply unhappy with the sentence.

A small protest also broke out calling for the teenager to be hanged.

The four others accused in the case could face the death penalty.

A fifth adult defendant was found dead in his cell in March and prison officials said they believed he hanged himself.

The gang rape of the 23-year-old woman last December caused uproar across India and triggered a national debate about the treatment of women.

The verdict in the case of the teenager - now aged 18 - had been deferred several times before.

He was six months short of becoming an adult at the time of the crime and many, including the family of the victim, had demanded that he should be treated as an adult and face the death penalty for the crime.

Continue reading the main story

Case Timeline

• 16 December 2012: Student gang raped on Delhi bus
• 17 December: Bus driver Ram Singh and three others arrested
• 21-22 December: Two more arrests, including a minor
• 29 December: Victim dies in Singapore hospital
• 21 January: Trial of five of the accused begins in special fast-track court - they later plead not guilty
• 28 February: Sixth accused charged in juvenile court
• 11 March: Ram Singh found dead in Tihar jail
• 31 August: juvenile accused found guilty and given three year term in reform facility

Meanwhile, a special fast-track court dealing with the trial of the four men accused in the case has been hearing closing arguments.

A judge who has been hearing the case since the trial began in February is expected to deliver his verdicts in mid-September.

In March, India passed a new bill containing harsher punishments, including the death penalty, for rapists.

Correspondents say the court hearings are being closely followed in India.

The victim, a physiotherapy student who also cannot be named for legal reasons, was with a male friend when she was attacked on a bus and thrown from the vehicle.

Police said the assailants beat both of them and then raped the woman. She died in a Singapore hospital on 29 December from massive internal injuries.

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Pope Francis makes key appointment

31 August 2013 Last updated at 07:35 ET

Pope Francis has named a new secretary of state, in what is seen as his most significant appointment since he became leader of the Catholic Church in March.

Archbishop Pietro Parolin, a 58-year-old Vatican diplomat, replaced Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, 79, who is retiring.

Cardinal Bertone, appointed by Francis' predecessor Pope Benedict, had been widely criticised over last year's so-called "Vatileaks" scandals.

Leaked documents revealed corruption and infighting at the Vatican.

The secretary of state heads the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Catholic Church, and is the Pope's chief adviser.

Archbishop Parolin, an Italian, is currently the Vatican's nuncio - or ambassador - in Venezuela.

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says his appointment marks the beginning of the replacement or dismissal of several former key members of Benedict's administrative team.

Pope Francis has also promised to stamp out abuses at the Vatican bank - officially known as the Institute for Religious Works.

Shortly after his appointment, he set up a commission to investigate the bank and report back to him personally.

He later he issued a decree to combat money-laundering.

The Vatileaks scandals erupted in 2012, when former Pope Benedict's butler, Paolo Gabriele, published confidential documents from Vatican offices alleging widespread corruption and mismanagement.

Gabriele was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in jail for stealing the papers, but he was subsequently pardoned by Benedict.

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Putin challenges US on Syria claims

31 August 2013 Last updated at 07:47 ET

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The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner examines what we know about the Syria attack on 21 August

Russian President Vladimir Putin has challenged the US to present to the UN evidence that Syria was responsible for chemical weapons attacks.

Mr Putin said it would be "utter nonsense" for Syria's government to provoke opponents with such attacks when it was in a position of strength.

US President Barack Obama has said he is considering military action against Syria based on intelligence reports.

Mr Putin's remarks came after UN weapons inspectors had left Syria.

They crossed into neighbouring Lebanon after four days of inspections, including investigations of what happened in the Damascus suburbs on 21 August.

Hundreds of people including children were killed in the suspected chemical weapons attacks, which the US says was carried out by the Syrian government.

Syria said the US claim was "full of lies", blaming rebels for the attacks.

Continue reading the main story 'Trump card'

The inspectors' departure from Syria removes both a practical and a political obstacle to the launch of US-led military action, says the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Lebanon.

Continue reading the main story

There are those in Syria who will cheer on the US action and those who will be quite worried by it, but I think everyone is making some preparation.

People are trying to buy what they can, stockpile things, get water, bread, food that lasts, because they don't know what's going to happen.

They don't know what President Obama means by a limited attack and what consequences that may have for their lives and the degree to which it would stay limited.

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Damascus says people are worried and are making preparations.

They do not known what Mr Obama means by a limited attack and what consequences it will have for them, he adds.

Speaking to journalists in the Russian far-eastern city of Vladivostok, Mr Putin urged Mr Obama - as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate - to think about future victims in Syria before using force.

He said it was ridiculous to suggest the Syrian government was to blame for the 21 August attack.

"Syrian government troops are on the offensive and have surrounded the opposition in several regions," he said.

"In these conditions, to give a trump card to those who are calling for a military intervention is utter nonsense."

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Barack Obama: "We're not considering any boots on the ground approach"

"So I'm convinced that is nothing more than a provocation by those who want to drag other countries into the Syrian conflict."

He said that the US failure to present evidence to the international community was "simply disrespectful".

"If there is evidence it should be shown. If it is not shown, then there isn't any," he said.

Russia - a key ally of Syria - has previously warned that "any unilateral military action bypassing the UN Security Council" would be a "direct violation of international law".

Moscow, along with China, has vetoed two previous draft resolutions on Syria.

Mr Putin also expressed surprise at a vote in the British parliament on Thursday ruling out participation in military action.

"I will be honest: this was completely unexpected for me," he said.

"This shows that in Great Britain, even if it is the USA's main geopolitical ally in the world... there are people who are guided by national interests and common sense, and value their sovereignty."

Meanwhile in France - seen as the main US ally since the UK vote - an opinion poll suggested that 64% opposed the use of force.

Neither France nor the US needs parliamentary approval for military action.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said his country will defend itself against any Western "aggression".

Forces which could be used against Syria:

• Four US destroyers - USS Gravely, USS Ramage, USS Barry and USS Mahan - are in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles. The missiles can also be fired from submarines, but the US Navy does not reveal their locations

• Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan, could be used to carry out strikes

• Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region

• French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean

• French Raffale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAE

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Mum in court over daughter's murder

31 August 2013 Last updated at 08:01 ET

A mother charged with murdering her eight-year-old daughter at a block of flats in east London has appeared in court.

Paramedics were called to a property in Broomfield Road in Chadwell Heath on Thursday morning after reports the girl, Ayesha Ali, had been injured. She was later pronounced dead.

Polly Chowdhury, 34, appeared at Barkingside Magistrates' Court.

She was remanded in custody and is due to appear at the Old Bailey on Tuesday.

The results of the post mortem examination are yet to be revealed.

Ms Chowdhury, who was treated at Queen's Hospital in Romford for minor injuries, was arrested on suspicion of murder after being discharged.

Scotland Yard said the death was being investigated by the Met's homicide and major crime command.

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UK recovery 'gathering momentum'

29 August 2013 Last updated at 19:06 ET

The British Chambers of Commerce has sharply upped its 2013 growth forecast, saying the economy is gaining momentum.

The business lobby group now expects 1.3% growth this year, up from 0.9%. Its forecasts for the next two years were upped to 2.2% and 2.5%.

But the BCC also warned of overseas risks to the more positive outlook, notably those posed by the eurozone, the Middle East and China's slowdown.

"Unfortunately the recovery is not yet secure," said BCC head John Longworth.

"We have had false dawns in recent years and although this upturn appears to be on stronger ground, we must be aware that complacency could lead to setbacks," the organisation's director general said.

Continue reading the main story

The services-led upturn that has become increasingly evident in recent months comes after two and a half years in which the economy almost completely stagnated.

'Austerity until 2019'

The BCC said it expected the unemployment rate, currently 7.8%, to fall to 7.5% of the workforce by the autumn of next year and to reach 7% by the end of 2015.

The 7% figure is particularly important as the Bank of England has said it would not raise interest rates until unemployment falls below it - something that the BCC now expects to happen nine months earlier than the Bank's own Monetary Policy Committee does.

The MPC received praise for its recent adoption of "forward guidance" - providing explicit advance warning of when interest rates might rise - which the BCC said helped provide businesses with more confidence to plan and invest.

The lobby group said the government could do more to support the recovery by improving the access for fast-growth business to loans, providing financial support to the building of new infrastructure and by helping exporters gain access to foreign markets.

The BCC's chief economist David Kern said Britain's export sector was already doing better than many realised, with the long-term trade deficit having halved in the last three years, thanks in large part to the sale of services overseas.

"While we would like to see more growth coming from investment and net trade, we should not be too concerned that consumer spending is helping to drive the recovery. It is better to rely initially on the consumer than to have no growth at all."

However, he cautioned that the government's mastering of its finances continues to be a "long and painful process".

"Tax receipts are inadequate as a result of sharp falls in oil and gas reserves and cuts in current spending will be needed until 2019 at the earliest."

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Super Puma helicopter flights resume

30 August 2013 Last updated at 06:23 ET

A meeting of industry representatives has recommended that Super Puma helicopters should be cleared to fly.

All offshore flights by the Super Puma had been suspended following the crash off Shetland last week which killed four oil workers.

The Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) said a campaign would be started to engage with the offshore workforce.

Earlier the missing flight data recorder of the crashed helicopter was recovered.

Les Linklater of HSSG said: "Four people tragically lost their lives on Friday. However there are almost 16,000 people offshore currently, with over 12,000 in the most affected areas (central and northern North Sea).

Continue reading the main story

We agree with the decision"

End Quote Bob Crow RMT union

"Today, there are over 250 people who have spent more than 21 days offshore, this is increasing daily and they and their families are wondering when they are going to get home.

"We have a duty of care to all offshore workers both in terms of their safety and their well-being; we must consider the cumulative risk of the 'time out'. We must avoid a further tragedy through the introduction of human factor-based risk such as fatigue, stress and other well-being concerns that increase the likelihood of a high consequence - low frequency event."

He added: "The individual helicopter operating companies will now work with their customers, to ensure the correct information and confidence-building communication is available, sensitive to the individual needs of the offshore workforce, before returning to full commercial passenger service."

The L2 model of Super Puma, the type involved in the Shetland crash, will be initially re-introduced for "non-passenger revenue operations only".

This means non-passenger carrying maintenance, positioning and training flights.

Available evidence

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT transport union, told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that he backed the decision to return the Super Pumas to service, in light of the evidence currently available.

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The wreckage was brought ashore in Lerwick and loaded onto a lorry

He said: "We agree with the decision, we've been party to this decision.

"We've looked at all the evidence. You've got to weigh up, at the end of the day, the pressures on individuals who are stranded on rigs and want to get back, or who've been away from work for two to three weeks.

"Also, at the end of the day, we've got to look at the evidence that was put in front of us and at this moment in time there's no reason why the crash was mechanical."

Black box

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the combined voice and flight data recorder from the crashed helicopter, known as the "black box", would be taken to its Farnborough headquarters for analysis.

The AAIB said the Super Puma had appeared to show a "reduction in airspeed accompanied by an increased rate of descent".

The AAIB said it appeared the helicopter had been intact and upright when it entered the water.

However, it was too early to identify a cause of the crash.

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The AAIB update reported: "Preliminary information indicates that the approach proceeded normally until approximately three miles from the runway when there was a reduction in airspeed accompanied by an increased rate of descent.

"The helicopter struck the sea approximately two miles west of the runway threshold.

"The evidence currently available suggests that the helicopter was intact and upright when it entered the water.

"It then rapidly inverted and drifted northwards. The helicopter was largely broken up by repeated contact with the rocky shoreline.

"The investigation is ongoing and at this early stage it is not possible to identify the causal factors leading to the accident."

Heavy swell

Much of the wreckage of the Super Puma has been brought ashore.

Key parts arrived at Lerwick at 04:30 on the support vessel Bibby Polaris.

Divers had known the rough location of the flight data recorder, but heavy swell hampered efforts to retrieve it.

Marine engineering company Ocean Kinetics, which is carrying out the recovery operation, had already recovered the helicopter's gearbox and rotor head.

Four people died when the Super Puma AS332 L2 went down close to shore on a flight to Shetland's Sumburgh Airport from the Borgsten Dolphin rig.

They were Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland, Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, 59, from Inverness, and George Allison, 57, from Winchester.

The crash was the fifth incident involving Super Pumas in the North Sea since 2009.

Aberdeen North MP Frank Doran has called for a public inquiry.

The Super Puma makes up the majority of the UK offshore industry's helicopter fleet.

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Poet Seamus Heaney dies aged 74

30 August 2013 Last updated at 07:25 ET

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Nick Higham looks back at the life of Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney, acclaimed by many as the best Irish poet since WB Yeats, has died aged 74.

Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995 "for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past".

Over his long career he was awarded numerous prizes and received many honours for his work.

He recently suffered from ill health.

His 2010 poetry collection The Human Chain was written after he suffered a stroke and the central poem, Miracle, was directly inspired by his illness.

Heaney's publisher, Faber, said: "We cannot adequately express our profound sorrow at the loss of one of the world's greatest writers. His impact on literary culture is immeasurable.

"As his publisher we could not have been prouder to publish his work over nearly 50 years. He was nothing short of an inspiration to the company, and his friendship over many years is a great loss."

Heaney was born in April 1939, the eldest of nine children, on a farm near Toomebridge in County Derry, Northern Ireland, but as a child moved to the village of Bellaghy.

He was educated at St Columb's College, Derry, a Catholic boarding school, and later at Queen's University Belfast, before before training as a teacher. He settled in Dublin, with periods of teaching in the US.

Heaney was an honorary fellow at Trinity College Dublin and, last year, was bestowed with the Seamus Heaney Professorship in Irish Writing at the university, which he described as a great honour.

Heaney's first book, Death of a Naturalist, published in 1966, reflected his rural upbringing, but as Ireland's troubles increased his work took a more political turn.

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In 2011, Heaney donated a collection of his literary papers to the National Library of Ireland.

It included manuscripts of his poetry, a comprehensive and vast collection of loose-leaf, typescript and manuscript worksheets and bound notebooks.

The collection spanned Heaney's literary career, from the publication of Death of a Naturalist (1966), to volumes such as Wintering Out (1972) and North (1975), right through to Station Island (1984), Seeing Things (1991) and his most recent publications, District and Circle (2006) and Human Chain (2010).

The latter won the prestigious £10,000 Forward Prize in 2010.

Continue reading the main story

This book is more naked, and I'm much more tentative talking about it than other books"

End Quote Seamus Heaney on his prize-winning collection, Human Chain

Heaney described the collection, his 12th, as his most personally revealing collection of poems.

He had been nominated for the Forward Prize three times before, but this was his first win. Judge and author Ruth Padel described Heaney's volume as "painful, honest, and delicately weighted".

Over the course of his career, Heaney also won the TS Eliot Prize, and was made Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Heaney was the professor of poetry at Oxford University between 1989 and 1994.

In an interview with the Today programme's James Naughtie in early 2013, Heaney remembered how he felt when he first discovered poetry.

"It was the voltage of the language, it was entrancing," he said.

"I think the first little jolt I got was reading Gerard Manley Hopkins - I liked other poems... but Hopkins was kind of electric for me - he changed the rules with speech and the whole intensity of the language was there and so on."

Heaney is survived by his wife, Marie, and children, Christopher, Michael and Catherine Ann.

Funeral arrangements are to be announced later.

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France backs US on Syria action

30 August 2013 Last updated at 08:04 ET

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Jeremy Bowen reports from Damascus: ''You could sense the tension in the face of what feels here like an impending attack''

The French president has said a vote by UK MPs against involvement in military strikes on Syria has not changed France's resolve to take firm action.

Francois Hollande said all options were being considered, and that a strike within days was not ruled out.

His comments came after US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Washington would continue to seek a coalition for possible military action.

However, Germany said it would not participate in military action.

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

The weapons inspectors this morning seemed to be in two or three minds about what was going on.

Twice they left the garage of the hotel where they and foreign correspondents are staying, looking as if they were ready to head out, and twice they went back in. Perhaps they had a plan to visit some of the suburbs held by rebels that they had been going into to take samples, but there's been a lot of shelling going on in that direction today.

Now they are here at the regime's military hospital. There have been claims from the regime itself that they had soldiers wounded by chemical weapons, and perhaps those are the people they've come to see.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung newspaper that "such participation has not been sought nor is it being considered".

Russia welcomed the UK parliament's vote, saying it reflected a growing public understanding of the dangers of an attack.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said there should be no rush to force action against Syria until UN chemical weapons inspectors have reported on their findings.

Washington accuses Damascus of using chemical weapons - which it denies.

The inspectors visited a hospital in a government-controlled area of Damascus.

The experts are due to finish their work later on Friday and give their preliminary findings to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday.

'France is ready'

In an interview with Le Monde newspaper, Mr Hollande said the UK vote made no difference to his support for action against the Syrian government.

"Each country is sovereign to participate or not in an operation. That is valid for Britain as it is for France," he said.

He said that if the UN Security Council was unable to act because two of its permanent members, Russia and China, were in opposition, a coalition would form including the Arab League and European countries.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The Obama administration believes that it is necessary to punish and deter Assad - the only question is whether Europe, represented by France, will be with them"

End Quote

"But there are few countries which can have the capacity of enforcing any sanction through the appropriate measures," he added.

"France will be part of it. France is ready."

Mr Hollande added that while all options for intervention were on the table, no decision would be taken without the conditions to justify it.

He ruled out strikes while the UN inspectors were in Syria. However, he did not rule out the possibility that military action could be taken before next Wednesday, when the French parliament is due to debate the issue.

British members of parliament rejected the principle of military action against Damascus in a 285-272 vote on Thursday.

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Ian Pannell: The victims "arrived like the walking dead".

On Friday UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he would continue to press for a "robust response" to the use of chemical weapons.

But the defeat of the government motion comes as a potential blow to the authority of Mr Cameron, who had already watered down his proposal in response to the opposition's objections, correspondents say.

'Beyond doubt'

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Britain has tended to march in lockstep with the US and this rejection of President Barack Obama's argument will leave bruises"

End Quote

In a statement on Thursday, the White House said President Barack Obama's decision-making "will be guided by what is in the best interests of the United States".

It stressed that the president "believes that there are core interests at stake for the United States".

And in an intelligence briefing to senior members of Congress on the case for launching military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops, State Secretary John Kerry said Washington could not be held to the foreign policy of others.

Eliot Engel, the top Democratic member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters after the briefing that other Obama administration officials had said that it was "beyond a doubt that chemical weapons were used, and used intentionally by the Assad regime".

Continue reading the main story

Models for possible intervention

• Iraq 1991: US-led global military coalition; explicit mandate from UN Security Council to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait
• Balkans 1990s: US arms supplied to anti-Serb resistance in defiance of UN-mandated embargo; later US-led air campaign against Serb paramilitaries
• Somalia 1992-93: UN authorised international force for humanitarian reasons; US military involvement culminated in disaster and pullout
• Libya 2011: France and UK sought UN authorisation for humanitarian operation; air offensive continued until fall of Gaddafi

Mr Engel added that officials had cited evidence including "intercepted communications from high-level Syrian officials".

One of the Syrian officials overheard seemed to suggest the chemical weapons attack was more devastating than was intended, officials were quoted as saying by the New York Times.

At least 355 people are reported to have died in a suspected chemical attack in the Ghouta area - on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus - on 21 August.

In Thursday's statement, the White House also stressed that it would "continue to consult" with the UK over Syria, describing London as "one of our closest allies and friends".

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died since the conflict erupted in Syria in March 2011, and the conflict has produced at least 1.7 million refugees.

Forces which could be used against Syria:

• Four US destroyers - USS Gravely, USS Ramage, USS Barry and USS Mahan - are in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles. The missiles can also be fired from submarines, but the US Navy does not reveal their locations

• Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan, could be used to carry out strikes

• Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region

• French aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean

• French Raffale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAEia:

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Miranda files 'put agents at risk'

30 August 2013 Last updated at 08:08 ET

Files seized from a Guardian journalist's partner contain details that could risk intelligence officers' lives, a senior cabinet adviser says.

Deputy national security adviser Oliver Robbins said one file seized from David Miranda included 58,000 "highly classified UK intelligence documents".

Mr Miranda, who denies this, was held for nine hours at Heathrow Airport under anti-terror laws on 18 August.

The details appear in a statement prepared for a High Court hearing.

Mr Miranda's partner Glenn Greenwald has worked with US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden on stories about US and UK surveillance programmes.

He plans to argue at a judicial review in October that his detention was a misuse of powers granted under anti-terrorism laws.

Earlier, High Court judges had been expected to consider an injunction but before it got under way Mr Miranda's lawyers said he and other parties had been in talks and reached an agreement that would allow police to carry on examining the material seized at the airport.

'Sweeping assessment'

In the court statement, Mr Robbins also alleged that the material carried by Mr Miranda was "highly likely to describe techniques crucial in life saving counter-terrorist operations".

He added that intelligence staff were identifiable in the information, posing a danger to them in the UK and overseas.

"In a variety of circumstances this danger includes a risk to life, both to intelligence officers and their families and recruitment attempts or threats to their safety by hostile intelligence services or terrorist groups," he added.

The statement also alleged that Mr Miranda was "couriering" this material to Glenn Greenwald in Brazil.

Outside the court, representatives for Mr Miranda said the government's assessment was "sweeping and vague", and the assertions were "unfounded".

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PM calls for robust action on Syria

30 August 2013 Last updated at 08:12 ET

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Prime Minister David Cameron: "We must listen to Parliament"

A "robust response" to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria is needed despite UK military involvement being ruled out, the prime minister has said.

David Cameron was defeated in the Commons as MPs rejected a motion on the principle that military action could be required to protect Syrian civilians.

Despite the result of the vote, the US said it would continue to seek a coalition for military intervention.

And France said the vote did not change its resolve about the need to act.

Russia - which has close ties with the the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - welcomed the UK's rejection of a military strike, while Germany has ruled out participation in any action.

'Deeply engaged'

Mr Cameron said it was a "regret" that he had been unable to build a consensus on the response to the suspected chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus on 21 August, in which hundreds of people are reported to have died.

However he insisted the UK remained "deeply engaged" on the world stage.

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Ian Pannell: The victims "arrived like the walking dead"

The UK government's defeated motion had called for military action if it was backed up by evidence from United Nations weapons inspectors, who are investigating the attack which is reported to have killed at least 355 people in the Ghouta area.

The inspectors are due to finish their work on Friday and give their preliminary findings to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon at the weekend.

Mr Cameron said it was important to listen to Parliament's decision.

And despite MPs voting against military action, he said: "I think it's important we have a robust response to the use of chemical weapons and there are a series of things we will continue to do."

Mr Cameron added: "We will continue to take a case to the United Nations, we will continue to work in all the organisations we are members of - whether the EU, or Nato, or the G8 or the G20 - to condemn what's happened in Syria.

"It's important we uphold the international taboo on the use of chemical weapons."

'Appalling crime'

There had been suggestions from ministers, including Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond, that Britain's rejection of military action would harm its relationship with the US.

Mr Cameron, though, said he would not have to apologise to President Barack Obama.

"I was faced with three things I wanted to do right and do in the right way," he said.

"First of all, to condemn absolutely and respond properly to an appalling war crime that took place in Syria. Secondly, to work with our strongest and most important ally who had made a request for British help. Thirdly, to act as a democrat, to act in a different way to previous prime ministers and properly consult Parliament.

"I wanted to do all those three things. Obviously politics is difficult - that involved going to Parliament, making an argument in a strong and principled way but then listening to Parliament.

"I think the American people and President Obama will understand that."

In other developments:

Labour leader Ed Miliband said earlier that by rejecting military intervention, the House of Commons had spoken "for the people of Britain".

"People are deeply concerned about the chemical weapons attacks in Syria, but they want us to learn the lessons of Iraq," he said.

"They don't want a rush to war. They want things done in the right way, working with the international community."

He said Britain "doesn't need reckless and impulsive leadership, it needs calm and measured leadership".

He said that Mr Cameron must "find other ways" to put pressure on Mr Assad, who has said Syria will defend itself against any aggression.

Chancellor George Osborne told Radio 4's Today programme there would now be "national soul searching about our role in the world".

He added: "I hope this doesn't become a moment when we turn our back on all of the world's problems."

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown has been the fiercest critic of the decision to not take part in military action, saying the UK was "hugely diminished".

Mr Cameron insisted, though, that Britain has "great strengths as a country".

"But on this specific issue, because of the huge concerns about this appalling Syrian conflict and people worrying about how we might get sucked into it, on that specific issue that trumped, as it were, the sense of outrage about the chemical weapons."

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Briton's death sentence appeal fails

30 August 2013 Last updated at 08:15 ET

A British woman sentenced to death for drug trafficking in the island of Bali has had her appeal rejected.

An Indonesian Supreme Court spokesman said it would not overturn the sentence handed down by two lower courts on 57-year-old Lindsay Sandiford, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Sandiford was sentenced to death by firing squad in January for smuggling 4.8kg (10.6lb) of cocaine.

The UK Foreign Office said it would continue to support her and her family.

'Right decision'

The BBC's Karishma Vaswani, in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, said three judges on the Supreme Court panel rejected the appeal because it judged the district court and the high court had made the "right decision".

The court spokesman said Sandiford's lawyer had yet to be informed of the decision.

Our correspondent added Sandiford still had the option to file a judicial review - but only if she could present new evidence or show the judges in her case were negligent.

Following the verdict the Foreign Office reiterated its "strong opposition" to the death penalty.

"We will consider how to support any application for judicial review or clemency that Lindsay Sandiford chooses to make," it said in a statement.

"We will continue to provide consular assistance to Lindsay Sandiford and her family at this difficult time."

The FCO added that it would continue to make representations to the Indonesian government about the case.

'Drug smuggling ring'

The Indonesian authorities said Sandiford was at the centre of a drug smuggling ring that brought cocaine into the island of Bali from the Thai capital Bangkok in May 2012.

Following her conviction, the prosecution recommended 15 years imprisonment but a panel of judges later sentenced Sandiford to death.

Continue reading the main story

• May 2012: Arrest in Bali
• December 2012: Convicted by district court
• January 2013: Sentenced to death
• April 2013: High Court rejects first appeal
• August 2013: Supreme Court rejects second appeal

Zoe Bedford, from legal charity Reprieve, said the decision was "deeply disappointing".

"It is clear that Lindsay was merely a vulnerable mule, exploited by those further up in the chain who have avoided serious punishment," she said.

She urged the UK government to "step in" and ensure that Sandiford was given legal advice to help find new evidence that would enable her to launch a judicial review.

Sandiford, originally from Redcar in Teesside, had claimed she was coerced into carrying £1.6m ($2.5m) of cocaine found in the lining of her suitcase during a routine customs check at Bali's airport.

She has since raised more than £10,000 in public donations to fund her court costs.

Sandiford's case had been taken up by the British human rights charity Reprieve, which said she was targeted by drug traffickers who "exploited her vulnerability and made threats against her children".

Three other Britons and an Indian national connected to the case were jailed for terms ranging from one to six years.

One of the defendants - 39-year-old Rachel Dougall from Brighton - was released in May after serving a year in an Indonesian jail.

Her partner, 43-year-old Julian Ponder, and another Briton, Paul Beales, were sentenced to six and four years respectively.

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Vodafone and O2 launch 4G networks

28 August 2013 Last updated at 19:07 ET By Joe Miller BBC News

Mobile networks Vodafone and O2 are rolling out their first 4G data services in three UK cities.

The networks will compete against EE, which has been the only company to offer "super-fast" mobile data in the UK since October 2012.

Vodafone's 4G will initially be limited to parts of London, while O2 will launch in London, Leeds and Bradford.

One analyst said this indicated the networks were "soft-pedalling" 4G and the UK could lag behind other nations.

Fourth-generation networks can provide data to smartphone users up to 10 times faster than standard 3G connections.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

From a consumer's point of view, the 4G experience in the UK remains somewhat underwhelming"

End Quote

The US, Japan, Australia and South Korea have all widely adopted 4G, but mobile phone users in many parts of the UK may have to wait until the end of 2015 for comprehensive coverage.

Testing speeds

EE was the first UK network to offer a 4G service, and now covers 105 towns and cities.

The company's early 4G launch prompted protests by rival providers, which claimed it gave the firm an unfair advantage.

But Steven Hartley, principal analyst at telecoms consultancy Ovum, accused Vodafone and O2 of taking a "very conservative approach" to 4G, at the expense of consumers.

"The UK's mobile networks are hedging their bets with 4G," he told the BBC. "They are trying the same strategy they used when they rolled out 3G, which is to offer 4G as a premium service to consumers, in an effort to move them onto expensive phone tariffs."

Mr Hartley added that even EE "could have been more aggressive commercially" in their deployment of 4G.

A report earlier this month by industry regulator Ofcom found that UK consumers have a limited appetite for 4G, with almost a quarter of smartphone users saying they did not see the benefit of moving to the superfast network.

Ofcom sale

Three, the last major network to provide 4G, will launch its service in London, Birmingham and Manchester in December.

The company said it would offer 4G to its existing customers at no extra cost, and would offer unlimited data packages, although full details of the roll-out beyond the three cities are still to be announced.

The race to provide 4G services has been ongoing since October 2012, when Ofcom, the industry regulator, allowed EE to re-license some of its existing bandwidth to provide 4G.

After an auction in February, Ofcom sold spectrum space to O2, Vodafone, Three and BT.

Spectrum gambles

The key difference between the 4G providers is the spectrum bands they bought for their services.

Bands on the lower end of the spectrum offer further-reaching signals, but can support fewer individual data users, whereas higher spectrum bands can deliver data to more people data but have a shorter reach.

Continue reading the main story

What is 4G?

• 4G is the latest technology for connecting to the Internet without a wi-fi connection
• It follows on from 3G and could be 5-7 times quicker. Almost as fast as home broadband
• Only certain, newer mobile handsets can use 4G networks
• 3G will still function on other handsets
• Ofcom wants 98% of the UK to have 4G coverage by the end of 2017

SOURCE: BBC Consumer

How much mobile data am I using?

There are three spectrum bandwidths available to networks looking to provide 4G services:

• The 800MHz band previously used for TV signals. This low frequency spectrum is best for providing long-distance 4G services, helping give access to the countryside, as well as offering superior indoor coverage.
• The 1.8GHz band, previously used for 2G and 3G networks, but can be reassigned for 4G.
• The 2.6GHz band, which had previously been used by operators of cord-free video cameras to send back footage of live events, including London's Olympic Games. The high frequency can deliver faster speeds across smaller distances, making it best suited for densely populated cities.

EE built its 4G network by re-appropriating some of the 1.8GHz spectrum bandwidth previously used for its 2G and 3G services. It has since bought space on both the 800Mhz and 2.6Ghz bands.

Vodafone paid the most for its spectrum bands, buying part of the 800Mhz and 2.6GHz bands for just over £790m.

O2 paid £550m for part of the 800MHz spectrum and Three paid £225m for other parts of the same band.

Limited appeal

Both Vodafone and O2 are offering added extras such as football highlights and streaming music to try and lure customers to their 4G contracts.

Stuart Orr, managing director of communications industry at Accenture, said these tactics showed 4G was not attractive enough as a standalone product.

"The move by Vodafone to package Sky Sports and Spotify in with its new 4G offering shows that operators know they have to demonstrate what new 4G services mean immediately for consumers and why they should pay more," he told the BBC.

All of the UK networks have pledged to widen their 4G offering within the next couple of years.

O2 said it would roll out 4G in a further 10 cities by the end of the year, while Vodafone plans to be in a further 12.

Three said its 4G would be available in 50 UK cities by the end of 2014.

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Ex-Wales fly-half Cliff Morgan dies

Wales rugby international and broadcaster Cliff Morgan has died after a long illness aged 83.

Morgan was one of the most talented fly-halves in the game, before becoming a respected commentator, writer and head of BBC outside broadcasts.

He won 29 caps for Wales, his first in 1951, captained the British and Irish Lions and also played for Cardiff.

Morgan will be forever associated with his commentary on the Barbarians v All Blacks match in 1973.

He is particularly remembered for his description of Gareth Edwards's famous try: "Brilliant by Quinnell. This is Gareth Edwards; a dramatic start. What a score!"

Cliff Morgan commentates on Gareth Edwards's try for the Barbarians

His easy-going charm and passionate love of sport was familiar to both rugby supporters and radio and television audiences.

He enjoyed a successful career as a mercurial fly-half for Cardiff, Wales, the Barbarians and the Lions before finding a new career in broadcasting.

Clifford Isaac Morgan was born on 7 April, 1930 in the village of Trebanog in the heart of the Rhondda.

The son of a coal miner who turned down an offer to play for Tottenham Hotspur, the young Cliff combined a love of singing and woodwork with a burgeoning ability on the rugby pitch.

His rugby master played the young Morgan at every position from prop to wing, before allowing him to excel at fly-half, a role which could have been created for him.

Short, slightly stocky and with an innate sense of balance, Morgan cut through opposition defences, often cheekily showing the other sides' players the ball before darting away and passing it.

Aged 19, he was picked to play for Cardiff and proved to be an inspirational presence, who, within a year, won the first of 29 caps for his country.

He was a pivotal member of the Grand Slam-winning team of 1952, more than holding his own alongside giants of the game like Bleddyn Williams and Ken Jones.

The following year, Morgan inspired first Cardiff, and then Wales, to victory against the mighty New Zealand All Blacks.

In 1955, he dazzled for the Lions on their tour of South Africa, scoring a crucial try against the Springboks in Johannesburg.

The Lions' 23-22 victory, in front of a crowd of 96,000 in the rarefied air of the Transvaal, was considered by Morgan to have been the greatest day of his sporting life.

Three years later, he retired from rugby at just 28, leaving behind many memories and admirers.

He moved effortlessly from player to broadcaster, first with the BBC in Wales before making the move to London.

If anything, his broadcasting career eclipsed his efforts on the rugby field. As editor of Grandstand and head of outside broadcasts, he helped define the way the corporation covered major sporting events.

To the surprise of many of his colleagues, he quit the BBC to edit This Week, the successful current affairs programme on ITV.

Cliff Morgan playing for Wales against England in the 1950s

A stroke in 1972 left Morgan speechless and paralysed down one side, but he completed a remarkable recovery when, having returned to the BBC, he commentated on the legendary 1973 match between the Barbarians and the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park.

As Gareth Edwards crashed over for 'that try', Morgan's commentary rose magnificently to the occasion: "If the greatest writer of the written word would have written that story, you'd never have believed it."

Ironically, it was rugby's other great voice, that of the late Bill McLaren, which should have told the story of the try, but the Scot was forced to withdraw with flu on the morning of the game.

In many ways it was fitting that Morgan should have been in the commentator's seat. A true Barbarian, he played in the famous black and white shirt before ever being picked for Wales and his view of how sport should be played reflected the amateur ethos.

He was uncomfortable with the flood of money going into sport and openly criticised those players who came to the game with a win-at-all-costs mentality.

A spell as resident captain on A Question of Sport was followed by what for many was his crowning achievement, the 11 years behind the microphone on Sport on 4.

For many Radio 4 listeners, the weekend had not properly begun until they had tuned in to Morgan's perceptive take on the sporting world, delivered in what fellow presenter Des Lynam described as "one of the best broadcasting voices of all time".

In 2007 he received a lifetime achievement award from BBC Wales and a tribute from fellow Barbarian, Tony O'Reilly.

"He's a man apart because of his gaiety, his grandeur, eloquence, because of his skills as a football player and his generosity to other players, which was enormous," said O'Reilly.

Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said Morgan was "an inspiration" to fellow broadcasters.

"Cliff Morgan was not only a superstar in rugby union, but also a pioneer in sports broadcasting and an inspiration to so many of the great voices of BBC Sport," said Slater.

"He was a scholar and a wordsmith, who had a wonderful understanding of the use of language in broadcasting.

"His commentary of the 1973 Barbarians match against the All Blacks, and in particular Gareth Edwards' famous try, was sublime in its simplicity and will be remembered for many years to come.

"Off-air, he played a huge role in the success of BBC Sport in the 70s and 80s, across a number of senior positions, delivering coverage of huge events including World Cups, Commonwealth and Olympic Games.

"He will be sorely missed by all in the sports broadcasting community."

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Labour could still vote no on Syria

29 August 2013 Last updated at 06:54 ET

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Ed Miliband: "I'm determined we learn the lessons of the past, including Iraq"

A Commons vote on the UK's response to a chemical attack near Damascus hangs in the balance, after Labour demanded "compelling evidence" of Syria's guilt.

MPs had been due to vote on whether the UK should launch an attack against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

But David Cameron was forced to back down after Labour said it wanted to wait for UN inspectors to report first.

Labour could still vote against a watered-down motion on the "principle" of launching military action.

Mr Cameron was not confident of gaining the backing of MPs for military action without Labour's support, as a number of Tory and Lib Dem MPs were expected to rebel.

'Compelling evidence'

Labour leader Ed Miliband has said he wants to see more evidence President Assad's regime carried out the chemical attack and does not want the UK to be pushed into action by an "artificial" timetable.

The UK government will shortly publish a summary of its position on the legality of intervention in Syria.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Obama is said to have wanted to act before leaving the US for a foreign trip next Tuesday - If he still wants to stick to that timetable, Britain will no longer be with him"

End Quote

Its Commons motion will be debated later by MPs, who have been recalled from their summer holidays to decide on whether the UK should join in with any allied military action against the Assad regime.

The government's motion states that a final vote on military action should now be held only after UN inspectors report on the use of chemical weapons - which Assad's regime blames on opposition fighters.

Labour is also planning to table its own amendment, saying that there must be "compelling evidence" that the Syrian regime was responsible for the use of chemical weapons.

Mr Milband has said he wants to "learn the lessons of Iraq" by giving UN weapons inspectors time to present the evidence.

He has yet to decide whether Labour will back the government's motion paving the way for military action if his party's motion is voted down, raising the prospect of a damaging defeat for Mr Cameron.

BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said it was "without modern precedent for a prime minister to lose control of his foreign policy, let alone decisions about peace and war".

'Prudent measure'

But Foreign Secretary William Hague said the government was keen to proceed "on a consensual basis" and the prime minister recognised "the deep concerns in this country over what happened over Iraq".

On Wednesday, the UK presented the UN with a draft resolution authorising "necessary measures" to protect Syrian civilians.

US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday his country was certain the Assad regime was responsible for the attack - though he also said he had not made a decision on a military strike.

UN weapons inspectors are expected to leave Damascus on Saturday before presenting their evidence to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon

This means a second parliamentary vote on British involvement in military action would probably not happen until at least early next week, meaning the UK may not be able to take part in expected US missile strikes.

In other developments:

The Cabinet Office has confirmed that the government will not publish the attorney general's advice on whether military intervention would be legal - something Green MP Caroline Lucas says is "deeply unacceptable".

Instead it will publish a summary of the government's position on its legality, along with a document written by the joint intelligence committee analysing "open source material" - including videos - of the attack near Damascus on 21 August.

MPs will debate the government's motion from 14:30 BST (13:30 GMT) with a vote not expected until 22:00 BST (21:00 GMT). The House of Lords will also debate the motion but will not vote.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government was seeking "to make the case for a simple, limited response" to the use of chemical weapons, arguing it would be a "fateful decision" if the West did not act.

"It is much more likely that Assad will use chemical weapons more frequently, in a more widespread way if nothing happens," he said.

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He denied the government was seeking a mandate for unlimited intervention in Syria's conflict.

The government motion states "this House deplores the use of chemical weapons" by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, and says a response "may, if necessary, require military action that is legal, proportionate and focused on saving lives by preventing and deterring further use of Syria's chemical weapons".

Continue reading the main story

Models for possible intervention

• Iraq 1991: US-led global military coalition, anchored in international law; explicit mandate from UN Security Council to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait
• Balkans 1990s: US arms supplied to anti-Serb resistance in Croatia and Bosnia in defiance of UN-mandated embargo; later US-led air campaign against Serb paramilitaries. In 1999, US jets provided bulk of 38,000 Nato sorties against Serbia to prevent massacres in Kosovo - legally controversial with UN Security Council resolutions linked to "enforcement measures"
• Somalia 1992-93: UN Security Council authorised creation of international force with aim of facilitating humanitarian supplies as Somali state failed. Gradual US military involvement without clear objective culminated in Black Hawk Down disaster in 1993. US troops pulled out
• Libya 2011: France and UK sought UN Security Council authorisation for humanitarian operation in Benghazi in 2011. Russia and China abstained but did not veto resolution. Air offensive continued until fall of Gaddafi

Labour's amendment states it would "only support military action involving UK forces" if various conditions were met - including "the production of compelling evidence that the Syrian regime was responsible for the use of these weapons".

Mr Cameron will open the Commons debate and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will close it.

A meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on Wednesday discussed the UK's draft resolution and talks are expected to continue for several days.

The resolution condemns the use of chemical weapons and demands that the regime of President Assad cease to use such weapons.

The security council, which meets whenever peace is threatened, is made up of 15 members, including permanent members China, Russia, France, the US and the UK.

Previous efforts to secure action against President Assad have been vetoed by Russia and China.

Syria has accused the West of "inventing" excuses to launch a strike.

The Speaker of the Syrian Parliament has written to Commons Speaker John Bercow inviting a parliamentary delegation to Damascus to check the UN's conclusions.

The letter added that Syria will sue those responsible in British courts if the UK attacks - which it said would be an "aggressive and unprovoked act of war".

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Child abuse charges for Rolf Harris

29 August 2013 Last updated at 07:29 ET

TV presenter Rolf Harris has been charged with nine counts of indecent assault and four of making indecent images of children, police have said.

Mr Harris was first arrested in March by officers investigating historical allegations of child sexual abuse.

Six offences relate to the indecent assault of a girl aged 15-16 between 1980 and 1981 and three relate to a girl aged 14 in 1986.

The indecent images of children were alleged to have been made last year.

Mr Harris, 83, of Bray, Berkshire, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 23 September.

Operation Yewtree

Alison Saunders, chief Crown prosecutor for London, said: "Having completed our review, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Harris to be charged with nine counts of indecent assault and four of making indecent images of a child.

"The alleged indecent assaults date from 1980 to 1986 and relate to two complainants aged 14 and 15 at the time of the alleged offending."

Mr Harris was arrested as part of Operation Yewtree, which was set up in the wake of allegations against the former BBC Radio 1 DJ and TV presenter Jimmy Savile.

Operation Yewtree has three strands - one is looking specifically at the actions of Savile, while the second strand concerns allegations against "Savile and others".

Mr Harris was arrested as part of the third strand, which relates to alleged complaints against other people unconnected to the Savile investigation - who the police term "others".

Mr Harris has been a fixture on British TV screens for more than 40 years, having arrived in the UK from his native Australia in 1952.

He has been honoured in the UK three times, first as a Member of the British Empire in 1968 (MBE), then an OBE in 1977 and in 2006 he was advanced to a CBE.

In June 2012 he was awarded one of Australia's highest honours when he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Queen's birthday list.

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Net migration to UK 'shows increase'

29 August 2013 Last updated at 07:49 ET

Net migration to the UK increased in the year ending December 2012, the Office for National Statistics says.

Latest figures show net migration rose to 176,000 - up from 153,000 people in the year to September 2012.

The increase appears to buck the trend of a decline in net migration - the difference between the number of people coming to and leaving the country.

Prime Minister David Cameron wants to get UK net migration below 100,000 before the next election in 2015.

The increase was driven by a drop in the number of migrants leaving Britain, which fell from 351,000 to 321,000 in the year to December 2012, the ONS found.

Over the same period, the number of immigrants arriving in the country dropped from 566,000 to 497,000, figures showed.

Continue reading the main story

Today's figures show how tough the government's self-imposed net migration target could become.

The news is not all bad. The detail shows that immigration itself is down on where it was when the coalition came in - now sitting at under half a million people a year.

But the problem for ministers is that they can't control emigration - and fewer people, particularly British and EU citizens, are leaving.

If fewer people leave, then the net migration balance can rise, even if the number of immigrants declines.

So with two years to go, there are real questions over whether the net migration target could ever be hit.

And that's why many experts on all sides of the political and policy debate argue that the net migration target just isn't a sensible measure of how well the system is being managed.

BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said the reasons for the rise were complex and partly related to the fact that fewer people were emigrating from the UK than the government expected.

If fewer people leave the UK, then the net migration balance can rise, even if the number of immigrants arriving declines or remains static, he added.

'Out of options'

Immigration minister Mark Harper said net migration was down by a third since its peak in 2010.

He added that a new immigration bill coming into force in the autumn would make it more difficult for people to come into Britain if they had no right to do so and would make it easier to remove people who were not entitled to stay in the country.

"We are committed to bringing net migration down from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands," Mr Harper said.

"We are working across government to protect public services and ensure our welfare system is not open to abuse."

Shadow immigration minister Chris Bryant said the figures were "a blow" to the home secretary.

"Theresa May's focus on net migration, which has gone wrong in these figures, has also meant the government is failing badly on illegal immigration, which is a major concern to the public and is getting worse and worse with fewer people being stopped at the border, absconsions up and deportations down.

"Immigration needs to be controlled, but we must recognise there is immigration that works for Britain and immigration that doesn't."

Sarah Mulley, of the centre-left think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the statistics suggested the government was running out of options to meet its target.

"Recent declines have been driven in large part by falling numbers of international students, which has come at a high economic cost, but this trend now appears to be levelling off," she said.

Other figures released in the report include:

• 97,000 immigrants from New Commonwealth countries, which include Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan came to the UK in the year ending December 2012, compared to 151,000 in the previous year. This drop is understood to be the result of fewer people arriving to study in the UK from those countries
• 58,000 immigrants arrived from countries which joined the EU in 2004, including Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, down from 77,000 the previous year
• The number of immigrants arriving for study in the UK is now similar to the estimated number of people arriving in the UK for work. About 180,000 arrived in the UK for formal study in the year to December 2012, compared with 232,000 the previous year

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UN chief awaits Syria weapons report

29 August 2013 Last updated at 08:05 ET

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The BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Damascus: "People are going about their daily business but there is a lot of anxiety"

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon says he will receive a report on Saturday from weapons inspectors investigating an apparent Syrian chemical attack.

Hundreds are reported to have died in the attack near Damascus last week.

US President Barack Obama has said he has not yet decided on a plan for retaliatory action against Syria.

Other nations are also considering the next move. The UK wants a UN Security Council resolution to take "all necessary measures" to help civilians.

A UK intelligence committee said in a statement that "if action in the UN Security Council is blocked, the UK would still be permitted, under the doctrine of humanitarian intervention, to take exceptional measures including targeted military intervention, in order to alleviate the overwhelming humanitarian suffering in Syria".

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his country would defend itself against any aggression.

The British parliament is voting later on Thursday on whether to back the principle of military intervention, but the leader of the opposition Labour Party has said MPs should not have to decide on what he called an "artificial timetable".

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

Damascus seems quieter than on trips I made here earlier this year, though there's still plenty of traffic in the centre. Its people are awaiting decisions that are being taken elsewhere.

Army roadblocks stop traffic every few miles down the highway in from the Lebanese border, as they have since the war started.

News agencies, quoting residents and some opponents of the Assad regime, have reported that some heavy weaponry has been moved out of bases and staff have partially vacated some headquarters.

It is logical for the Syrian army to have some sort of plan to protect itself from any attack, especially since the progress toward launching a military strike has been discussed so openly by Western powers.

The countries surrounding Syria are bracing themselves for a new crisis. In Beirut, the man who helped me with my bags said the West would do whatever it wanted.

"But please, don't bomb anywhere near Lebanon. We fear another big war."

The Speaker of the Syrian parliament has written to his counterpart in London inviting a British parliamentary delegation to visit Damascus as soon as possible.

French President Francois Hollande has also yet to decide about a military intervention. But on Thursday, after meeting Ahmed Jarba, the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Mr Hollande said a political solution would only be possible if "the international community can put a temporary stop to this escalation in violence".

Meanwhile, the Chinese state newspaper China Daily has warned there are no excuses for air strikes on Syria - with an editorial accusing Western powers of acting as judge, jury and executioner before the UN has completed its investigation.

Russia, President al-Assad's main international ally, also says it opposes any foreign military intervention in Syria.

Russia is sending an anti-submarine ship and a missile cruiser to the eastern Mediterranean.

The ships are being sent to strengthen the navy's presence in the area because of the "well-known situation" there, the Russian news agency Interfax has said.

But another news agency, RIA Novosti, quotes a senior naval command spokesman as saying that this is just a planned rotation, unconnected with Syria.

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Ban Ki-moon: "Inspectors will report to me as soon as they come out"

Britain says it is sending six Typhoon fighter jets to Cyprus, in what it says is a measure to protect British bases there.

'Inventing excuses'

The UN weapons inspectors are now in their third day of on-site investigations at the sites of an alleged chemical attack near Damascus.

The UN secretary general has appealed for the team to be "given time to do its job".

Syria denies using chemical weapons and blames opposition fighters for the attack on 21 August, which reportedly killed hundreds of people near Damascus.

It accused the West of "inventing" excuses to launch a strike.

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President Obama: ''I have no interest in any kind of open-ended conflict in Syria''

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Obama is said to have wanted to act before leaving the US for a foreign trip next Tuesday - If he still wants to stick to that timetable, Britain will no longer be with him"

End Quote

In a sign of growing fears about an impending attack among Syrians, the Associated Press quoted Lebanese officials as saying at least 6,000 Syrians crossed into Lebanon in a 24-hour period through the main Masnaa crossing - compared to a normal daily tally of between 500 and 1,000 refugees.

"Isn't it enough, all the violence and fighting that we already have in the country, now America wants to bomb us, too?" one 45-year-old woman, entering Lebanon with her five children, told AP.

In Damascus, senior military commanders are reportedly staying away from buildings thought likely to be targeted. You "could hear a pin drop" at one of them, a local resident said.

But state television is portraying citizens going about their normal lives, seemingly unperturbed by the prospect of possible military strikes.

'Consequences'

President Obama told the US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) that the US had "not yet made a decision" on whether to take retaliatory action against Syria, but "the international norm against the use of chemical weapons needs to be kept in place, and hardly anyone disputes that chemical weapons were used in a large scale in Syria against civilian populations".

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Military intervention is morally justified"

End Quote Anthony Luder Safed, Israel

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Intervening now in Syria would be a terrible mistake"

End Quote Demetrios Nicolaides Limassol, Cyprus

"We've looked at all the evidence, and we don't believe the opposition possessed chemical weapons of that sort," he said.

He added he had concluded that the Syrian government carried out the chemical weapons attack.

"There need to be international consequences, so we are consulting with our allies," he said.

Critics have questioned what purpose a limited strike on Syria could serve, but Mr Obama said it would send the government of Bashar al-Assad "a pretty strong signal that it better not [use chemical weapons] again".

The BBC's David Willis in Washington says this is the most unequivocal sign that Mr Obama has given that he believes the Syrian government is guilty of deploying chemical weapons.

Despite that, our correspondent says, Mr Obama looked cautious and spoke in a measured way, and he was clearly concerned about getting Congress on board as well as the American public.

Opinion polls until now have shown very little interest among the US public in getting involved in the Syrian conflict.

In an open letter to the president, US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner demanded he explain "the intended effect of military strikes", and how he would prevent the intervention escalating, if he wanted to win public and congressional backing for action.

US officials are expected to give senior members of Congress a classified briefing on the evidence that the Syrian government carried out the alleged chemical attack on Thursday.

The US has said it will not take action alone - but one of its primary allies, the UK, has agreed to wait until UN inspectors report back before taking a final parliamentary vote on potential action.

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The BBC's John Simpson explains the cases for and against intervention

Russia rejected a UK push to try to agree a resolution on Syria among permanent UN Security Council members on Wednesday, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying the UN could not consider any draft resolution or proposed action in Syria before the UN weapons inspectors reported back.

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Models for possible intervention

• Iraq 1991: US-led global military coalition, anchored in international law; explicit mandate from UN Security Council to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait
• Balkans 1990s: US arms supplied to anti-Serb resistance in Croatia and Bosnia in defiance of UN-mandated embargo; later US-led air campaign against Serb paramilitaries. In 1999, US jets provided bulk of 38,000 Nato sorties against Serbia to prevent massacres in Kosovo - legally controversial with UN Security Council resolutions linked to "enforcement measures"
• Somalia 1992-93: UN Security Council authorised creation of international force with aim of facilitating humanitarian supplies as Somali state failed. Gradual US military involvement without clear objective culminated in Black Hawk Down disaster in 1993. US troops pulled out
• Libya 2011: France and UK sought UN Security Council authorisation for humanitarian operation in Benghazi in 2011. Russia and China abstained but did not veto resolution. Air offensive continued until fall of Gaddafi

The use of force without a sanction of the UN Security Council would be a "crude violation" of international law and "lead to the long-term destabilisation of the situation in the country and the region", Mr Lavrov said.

The US state department criticised "Russian intransigence" and said it could not allow diplomatic paralysis to serve as a shield for the Syrian leadership.

UN 'moment'

The UK, US and France are continuing their discussions following the meeting of the five permanent members.

The UK will want to be seen to be exhausting every diplomatic avenue, says the BBC's Nick Bryant at the UN headquarters in New York.

For the UK, there needs to be a UN "moment" - despite the fact that UN action will likely again be blocked by Russia or China.

But even without UN backing, the US and its allies have been clear that they see the military option is still open to them, our correspondent says.

"This is the first use of chemical warfare in the 21st Century," said UK Foreign Secretary William Hague. "It has to be unacceptable... or we will confront even bigger war crimes in the future."

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died since the conflict erupted in Syria in March 2011, and the conflict has produced at least 1.7 million refugees.

Forces which could be used against Syria:

• Four US destroyers - USS Gravely, USS Ramage, USS Barry and USS Mahan - are in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles
• Cruise missiles could also be launched from submarines, including a British Trafalgar class boat. HMS Tireless was reportedly sighted in Gibraltar at the weekend
• Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan, could be used to carry out strikes
• Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region
• The Royal Navy's response force task group- which includes helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious and frigates HMS Montrose and HMS Westminster - is in the region on a previously-scheduled deployment
• RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus could also be used
• French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean
• French Raffale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAE.

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Bin Laden doctor to be retried

29 August 2013 Last updated at 08:21 ET

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Archive: Orla Guerin reports on Dr Afridi's jailing in May 2012

Officials in Pakistan have overturned the jail sentence and ordered a retrial of a doctor who helped the CIA in their search for Osama Bin Laden.

Shakil Afridi was charged with treason and tried under the tribal justice system for running a fake vaccination programme to gather information.

He was jailed for 33 years in May 2012 and has been held since then at Peshawar Central Jail.

Bin Laden was killed by US forces in Abbottabad in May 2011.

His killing created a crisis in relations between the US and Pakistan, which felt the covert operation was a violation of its sovereignty.

Jailed for collaboration

The sentence was quashed and a retrial ordered because the previous judge had exceeded his authority in handing down the sentence, a judicial official at Pakistan's Frontier Crimes Regulation ruled.

The previous trial had been heard by an official with the status equivalent to a magistrate. The order issued by the commission says that the new trial must be heard by an official with the status of a judge.

Dr Afridi will stay in prison until the retrial is concluded. No date has been set for the trial.

Shortly after the raid on Bin Laden's house, Dr Afridi was arrested for conspiring against the state of Pakistan.

Although he was accused of working with the CIA he was eventually jailed for collaborating with a militant group. Correspondents say that the group named had actually kidnapped him on one occasion.

Dr Afridi was not present at his trial. His swift conviction came in a court outside Pakistan's normal jurisdiction in the semi-autonomous tribal areas, which do not necessarily follow standard judicial procedures.

He has consistently maintained that he did not know the target of the CIA operation was Osama Bin Laden.

US officials spoke out against his arrest and sentencing and called for his release. But Pakistan maintained that any government would have taken similar measures.

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