Labour demands apology from Mail

2 October 2013 Last updated at 06:09 ET

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The Daily Mail's Jon Steafel and Alastair Campbell clash on Newsnight

Labour has demanded an apology from the Daily Mail after the newspaper said using a photo of Ed Miliband's father's grave had been an "error of judgement".

The admission came after the Labour leader accused the Mail of lying by claiming the late Marxist academic Ralph Miliband had "hated Britain".

Mail deputy editor Jon Steafel said the picture was removed from its website after Mr Miliband complained to him.

But he told the BBC's Newsnight programme he stood by the reporting.

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Ed Miliband's anger at the Daily Mail was clear enough.

There is no sure-fire way of knowing, though, how many voters share his outrage.

The party says a webpage inviting comments in support of Miliband's position has garnered some 16,000 messages.

The number of complaints to the PCC though is, so far, dwarfed by some previous rows about press conduct.

The sight of a clearly upset Miliband may have grabbed voters' attention in a way few speeches could mange.

Not for the first time, Labour's leader is defining himself by opposing powerful papers, and debating their ethics.

But the Daily Mail stands by its report, its headline, and its view that Ralph Miliband's politics are relevant and important.

And the Mail matters because it is so popular: the second best read paper in Britain, with a successful website.

However many voters sympathise with a son defending their father, this row is highly unlikely to affect the newspaper's success, or its influence.

The Labour leader's office said it had received 10,000 e-mails supporting Mr Miliband's decision to speak out against the newspaper, more than on any other issue.

In Saturday's article, journalist Geoffrey Levy questioned whether the beliefs of Ralph Miliband, who died in 1994, may have influenced the Labour leader.

In a right of reply in Tuesday's Mail, Mr Miliband said his father, a Jewish refugee who fled Belgium aged 16 to escape the Nazis, "loved" Britain and had served in the Royal Navy.

'Bad aspects'

"There is no credible argument in the article or evidence from his life which can remotely justify the lurid headline," he said.

Interviewed later in the day, the Labour leader said he was "appalled" that having allowed him to respond, the paper then repeated its original article and wrote an editorial which described his father as having had an "evil legacy".

The Press Complaints Commission said it had received 32 complaints about the article, compared with 5,000 for a story in The Sun last year about England manager Roy Hodgson. Labour has not made an official complaint.

The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said this was a hugely personal matter for the Labour leader.

But he said Mr Miliband's reaction also had a political spin-off in him being seen to stand up to sections of the press expected to attack him ahead of the next election.

'Justified'

Mr Steafel said the original article's headline - "The man who hated Britain... The answer should disturb everyone who loves this country" - was "justified" when read in conjunction with the whole article .

He told Newsnight: "[Ralph Miliband's] views on British institutions from our schools to our royal family, to our military to our universities, to the Church to our great newspapers ... what he said was that he felt that all of those things were bad aspects, were unfortunate aspects of British life...

"If you take those things together and you combine them with an espousing of a Marxist ideology, that in our view represented someone who hated British values," Mr Steafel said.

Ed Miliband has said he does not share his father's ideology but the Daily Mail has maintained it was fair to scrutinise the beliefs of his father as the Labour leader has talked of him being an influence.

However, Mr Steafel confirmed he had agreed to remove the picture of the grave, which included the caption "grave socialist", after he had taken a call from Ed Miliband when the article was first published on its website on Saturday evening.

"I think using that picture was an error of judgement and that's why we didn't use it in the paper," he said.

Heated exchanges

In a series of heated exchanges with Mr Steafel on Newsnight, Alastair Campbell, the former director of communications at Downing Street under Tony Blair, said the Daily Mail was "the worst of British values posing as the best" and the articles were "not defensible".

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Ed Miliband: ''I'm not willing to see my father's good name undermined in this way''

He said its editor Paul Dacre should have appeared on Newsnight himself.

After the broadcast, a Labour Party spokesman said: "The deputy editor of the Daily Mail tonight admitted that it was an 'error of judgement' to publish a picture of Ralph Miliband's grave accompanied by a crude pun. The newspaper should now apologise for this error of judgement."

He added: "We continue to believe that the article headlined 'the man who hated Britain' and a subsequent article which described Ralph Miliband's legacy as "evil" were smears. The deputy editor of the Daily Mail showed tonight he could not justify either of them."

Ken Livingstone, former Labour MP and Mayor of London, told BBC Radio 4 Ralph Miliband was "completely committed to the country he lived in".

He said: "The idea that you take something that someone writes at 17 and twist it in this way… it does not define what you're going to be as a grown up."

Wednesday's edition of the Daily Mail devotes four pages to the ongoing row and includes an abridged version of its editorial from the previous day.

It also highlights the support given to Mr Miliband from the prime minister and deputy prime minister on Tuesday for defending his father, as well as reflecting views from both sides of the debate by other political figures and its readers.

A new editorial says the story is "not just a personal issue. It is a fundamental question of ideology and enormous public interest".

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McCririck 'not a serious journalist'

2 October 2013 Last updated at 06:43 ET

The man who dropped John McCririck from Channel 4's horse racing programmes has said the decision was "entirely unrelated to his age".

Jamie Aitchison, commissioning editor for sport, told a tribunal that the pundit's "exaggerated tone" was "out of step" with the channel's coverage.

McCririck was "seen by many as a comic act rather than a serious horse racing journalist," he added.

The 73-year-old is accusing his former employers of age discrimination.

Channel 4 and IMG Media deny the claims.

In a statement to an employment tribunal, Mr Aitchison said: "John McCririck's exaggerated tone and style and propensity to offend was out of step with the vision for the programme, and also unappealing and irritating to many current and potential viewers."

He added that the decision to drop him from the line-up last year was taken for "legitimate and justified reasons".

Speaking earlier this week, McCririck told the tribunal his image as a bigot and a sexist went "side-by-side" with his career as a serious journalist.

The 73-year-old claimed his appearances as a "pantomime villain" on reality TV shows did not reduce his "gravitas" and denied they damaged horse racing.

Wednesday's proceedings also saw the Conservative MP Philip Davies appear as a character witness for McCririck.

"I can't think of anybody who is more on top of his game, nor suitable for the role," the MP for Shipley in West Yorkshire told the tribunal.

Davies, who sits on the Culture Select Committee, acknowledged he had previously criticised Channel 4 for "being too politically correct".

The hearing continues.

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Energy bills rise 'due to new rules'

2 October 2013 Last updated at 07:07 ET

Tens of thousands of elderly customers face a rise in their energy bills, after one of the UK's biggest suppliers withdrew a tariff for the over 60s.

E.on has announced that it will scrap its StayWarm scheme, which offered fixed-price bills.

The firm blamed new rules which limit the number of tariffs that energy companies can offer.

The changes are part of the government's plans to cut bills, and have been backed by the Prime Minister.

They are being implemented by the regulator, Ofgem, and will limit the total number of tariffs to four per fuel.

"Due to new Ofgem rules, which includes limiting the number of tariffs we can offer, the StayWarm tariff will close as current contracts come to an end from October 7th," an E.on spokesperson said.

The customers concerned will be written to, and advised to switch to another tariff.

However, if they cannot be contacted, they will be automatically moved to the company's more expensive standard tariff.

Savings

Ofgem said E.on could have continued with the StayWarm tariff if it had wanted to.

Continue reading the main story

Advice from the Energy Saving Trust:

• Insulate your hot water cylinder. Could save up to £60 a year
• Get an eco-shower head. Some water companies are giving them away free; could save you up to £75 a year
• Swap halogen spot lights with new LED bulbs. Replacing all traditional bulbs with energy saving versions can save £60 a year

Make more energy savings

"We have never told suppliers which tariffs they have to close to comply with this rule, as that is a decision for them," said an Ofgem spokesperson.

"In fact we have been clear with all suppliers that they would have been allowed to keep social tariffs (which for example offer discounts to customers who have difficulty paying bills) under our rules.

Under the new rules, which are due to be in place by the end of 2013, the customers affected will have to be given details of the next cheapest tariff offered by E.on.

E.on said that another tariff for customers over 60 remains open.

The Age UK 1 year fixed tariff protects consumers against price rises for 12 months.

Anyone who pays by direct debit can also save 3% compared to the company's standard tariff.

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Berlusconi U-turn on confidence vote

2 October 2013 Last updated at 08:03 ET

Ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi has performed a U-turn in an Italian no-confidence vote and says he will now support the government.

It was Berlusconi's demand that five ministers from his centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL) leave the government that had brought the vote.

But it became clear that several of his senators would vote for the government.

PM Enrico Letta had earlier said that if he were defeated in the vote, it might prove fatal for Italy.

The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says senior figures in Berlusconi's party had indicated they would not support him and it was clear he had badly overreached himself.

Our correspondent says Berlusconi has been forced into a humiliating climbdown and will emerge a weakened figure, with his capacity to influence Italian politics diminished.

When he finally rose to speak in the Senate, Berlusconi said: "Italy needs a government that can produce structural and institutional reforms. We have decided, not without internal strife, to back the confidence vote."

In his address to the Senate, Mr Letta had defended his government's performance and said Italy "runs a risk, a fatal risk" if it were to fall.

He said: "Give us your confidence to realise [our] objectives. Give us your confidence for all that has been accomplished... a confidence vote for Italy and Italians.''

Mr Letta had needed 161 votes in the Senate but could only count on the support of about 137 members, meaning he needed about 25 votes from others.

Italian media say a majority of senators at a PDL gathering had voted in favour of opposing the government but it became clear that a group of about 25 dissidents would help give Mr Letta the numbers he needed.

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Obama cuts Asia trip over shutdown

2 October 2013 Last updated at 07:32 ET

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Obama accused Republicans of demanding "ransom" over Obamacare

President Barack Obama has postponed two stops on his four-nation Asian tour because of the government shutdown.

The White House said it was "logistically... not possible" to go ahead with the trips to Malaysia and the Philippines at the end of his tour.

But he would still be attending regional summits in Indonesia and Brunei, the White House added.

The US government has partially shut down after the two houses of Congress failed to agree a new budget.

More than 700,000 federal employees face unpaid leave, and national parks, museums and many buildings are closed.

Mr Obama earlier vowed not to allow Republicans to undermine his signature healthcare legislation as a condition to restart the US government.

Continue reading the main story

It's a nightmare for me financially, it causes me a lot of anxiety and stress and I don't sleep well at night"

End Quote Peter Gamba Treasury department employee

"They demanded ransom," Mr Obama said.

Four-nation trip

Mr Obama had been scheduled to begin his four-nation Asian trip on Saturday, heading to Bali for an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit and Brunei for the East Asia summit before travelling on to Malaysia and the Philippines.

The White House said that "logistically, it was not possible to go ahead" with the trips to Malaysia and the Philippines.

"Because they are on the back end of the president's upcoming trip, our personnel was not yet in place and we were not able to go forward with planning," the White House said in a statement.

"Unlike the Apec and East Asia Summits, these trips can also be rescheduled, and President Obama looks forward to visiting Malaysia and the Philippines later in his term."

Earlier, the office of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Mr Obama had called him to inform him that Secretary of State John Kerry would address an entrepreneurship conference in Kuala Lumpur on 11 October in his place.

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A group of military veterans who flew in from Mississippi as part of an arranged tour were given special access to the World War II memorial.

Mr Obama has been forced to call off trips to Asia before because of issues at home.

In 2010, a vote on healthcare and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill forced separate cancellations in March and June, though he did make it to India, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia in November of that year.

'A lot of anxiety'

The US government ceased operations deemed non-essential at midnight on Tuesday, when the previous budget expired.

National parks and Washington's Smithsonian museums are closed, pension and veterans' benefit cheques will be delayed, and visa and passport applications will go unprocessed.

However, members of the military will be paid.

One group of elderly military veterans managed to bypass the shutdown when the WWII Memorial in Washington DC - that they had travelled from Mississippi to see - was opened for them.

Treasury department employee Peter Gamba told the BBC he was worried by the turn of events.

"For whatever reason I cannot fathom, you're asking me to again give up my pay and give up service to the American public," he said.

"It's a nightmare for me financially, it causes me a lot of anxiety and stress and I don't sleep well at night."

Continue reading the main story

• Department of State will be able to operate for limited time
• Department of Defense will continue military operations
• Department of Education will still distribute $22bn (£13.6bn) to public schools, but staffing is expected to be severely hit
• Department of Energy - 12,700 staff expected to be sent home, with 1,113 remaining to oversee nuclear arsenal
• Department of Health and Human Services expected to send home more than half of staff
• The Federal Reserve, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice will see little or no disruption
• US Postal Services continue as normal
• Smithsonian institutions, museums, zoos and many national parks closed

President Obama has blamed conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives for the government shutdown, saying "one faction of one party" was responsible because "they didn't like one law".

"They've shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans," Mr Obama said.

The White House rejected a Republican plan to fund only a few portions of the government - national parks, veterans' programmes and the budget of the District of Columbia.

The Republicans have called for more negotiations.

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner called the White House's position "unsustainably hypocritical".

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What does shutdown mean for two million federal employees, agencies and tourist destinations?

Rory Cooper, a spokesman for Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, accused Mr Obama of "hyper-partisan speeches".

An opinion poll released on Tuesday suggested the American public disagreed with the Republican strategy.

An estimated 72% of voters oppose Congress shutting down the federal government in order to block the health law, according a poll by Quinnipiac University.

The healthcare law passed in 2010, was subsequently validated by the US Supreme Court, and was a major issue in the 2012 presidential election.

The next key deadline in the US is 17 October, when the government reaches the limit at which it can borrow money to pay its bills, the so-called debt ceiling.

House Republicans have demanded a series of policy concessions - including on the health law and on financial and environmental regulations - in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

President Obama is due to meet the heads of some of Wall Street's biggest banks - including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America - to discuss the debt ceiling and other economic issues.

The bankers are members of the Financial Services Forum, a lobbying group which has, along with 250 other businesses, sent a letter to Congress urging it to raise the debt ceiling.

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We'll make UK a land of hope - PM

2 October 2013 Last updated at 08:00 ET

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David Cameron mocks "Red Ed and Blue Peter polices"

David Cameron vowed to get behind business to create a "land of opportunity for all", in his big speech to close the Conservative conference.

His 50-minute address sought to set out dividing lines with "the 1970s-style socialism" he said Labour now offered.

He claimed Britain's economy was finally "turning the corner" and the "land of hope is Tory" while "the land of despair was Labour".

"If Labour's plan for jobs is to attack business, ours is to back business."

In response the the speech Labour said Mr Cameron offered a land of opportunity "for just a privileged few".

In a clear riposte to Mr Miliband's speech last week, in which he promised to freeze energy prices and increase corporation tax on big business, Mr Cameron told Tory activists "profits, tax cuts and enterprise... are not dirty, elitist words".

"Because it's not government that creates jobs, it's businesses. It's businesses that get wages in people's pockets, food on their tables, hope for their families and success for our country."

'Quick fixes'

Mr Cameron warned that Labour's calls for more state borrowing and spending to ease the "cost of living crisis" would risk putting the UK on the economic trajectory of Greece.

And he claimed the Labour leader's policies announced last week to tackle the cost of living crisis were already unravelling.

Continue reading the main story

What will stay in the memory from this conference is the Tories' laser-like focus on the threat from Ed Miliband which they once laughed off."

End Quote

"It's all sticking plasters and quick fixes cobbled together for the TV cameras - Red Ed and his Blue Peter economy, " said Mr Cameron.

Mr Cameron spoke for just over an hour, from behind a lectern, often looking straight into the lens of the TV camera in an attempt to communicate directly with voters.

The BBC's chief political correspondent Norman Smith said it was a surprisingly sober speech in parts, with Mr Cameron stressing there was still much work to do to fix Britain's economy.

There were no new policy announcements, as Mr Cameron chose instead to sketch out his vision of the kind of society he wants to build if the Conservatives win a majority at the 2015 general election.

It was not enough just to clean up Labour's "mess" and pay off the deficit, he wanted to "build something better in its place".

"In place of the casino economy, one where people who work hard can actually get on; in place of the welfare society, one where no individual is written off; in place of the broken education system, one that gives every child the chance to rise up and succeed.

"Our economy, our society, welfare, schools all reformed, all rebuilt with one aim, one mission in mind - to make this country at long last, and for the first time ever, a land of opportunity for all.

"So it makes no difference whether you live in the North or in the South, whether you're black or you're white, a man or a woman, the school you went to, the background you have, who your parents were - what matters is the effort you put in, and if you put the effort in you'll have the chance to make it.

"That is what the land of opportunity means. That is what finishing the job means."

'Bigger society'

Distancing his party from the Lib Dems, he said: "When the election comes, we won't be campaigning for a coalition, we will be fighting heart and soul for a majority Conservative government - because that is what our country needs...

"This party at its heart is about big people, strong communities, responsible businesses, a bigger society - not a bigger state."

During their week in Manchester, Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne have expressed the aim of running a consistent government budget surplus - meaning the government brings in more in revenue than it spends - by 2020.

Mr Osborne has announced plans to make the long-term unemployed undertake work placements if they want to continue receiving benefits.

Labour says the failure of government strategies to produce significant growth means it will borrow billions of pounds more than originally envisaged over the lifetime of the current parliament.

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Man detained for random bus stabbing

2 October 2013 Last updated at 08:06 ET

A man has been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act for killing schoolgirl Christina Edkins on a rush-hour bus in Birmingham city centre.

Sixteen-year-old Christina was fatally stabbed on her way to school in March.

Phillip Simelane, from Walsall, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at a hearing in Birmingham Crown Court.

Three months before the attack he had been released from prison unsupervised, despite warning signs over the state of his mental health.

Christina was travelling to Leasowes High School in Halesowen when unemployed and homeless Simelane stabbed her in what has been described as a random attack.

Manhunt

He was sitting behind the teenager on the upper deck of the Number 9 bus and stabbed her in the chest as he walked past to get off.

A post-mortem examination found she died from a single stab wound.

Simelane was arrested just hours after the attack following an extensive manhunt.

He had previously been in prison for threatening his own mother with a knife.

West Midlands Police said they had been called to his mother's address in Walsall about 20 times.

Just seven days after completing a 101-day prison term he was convicted for interfering with a vehicle and possession of cocaine, before being released from jail on 13 December 2012.

But, according to the police, because the crimes were deemed minor offences there was no policy to monitor Simelane after he left jail.

During his time in prison, concerns were raised about his mental health and notes were put on his police file for suicide and self-harming, as well as for violence and weapons use, following the incident with his mother.

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust provided psychiatric assessments for Simelane during his prison term.

It said it was conducting an external review, commissioned by Birmingham Cross City Clinical Commissioning Group, on behalf of all agencies involved in treating him.

The review is expected to report its findings in December.

In a statement the trust said: "We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Christina's family for what was an unprovoked attack on an innocent member of the public.

"What is clear, is that there are lessons to be learned for us and others involved in the care of Phillip Simelane to prevent such a tragedy happening again in the future.

"We would not want to speculate on the outcome of this review, but we are clear that this will be an externally reviewed, thorough investigation and we will seek to learn from and fully implement these findings across the healthcare providers involved."

'Hidden knife'

Supt Richard Baker, who led the initial police investigation, said other reviews were now taking place by the police and prison service to determine what, if anything, could have been done to prevent Christina's death.

In court, Simelane, wearing a grey suit, white shirt and blue tie, entered his plea in front of more than 30 of Christina's friends and family, many wearing purple ribbons - Christina's favourite colour.

Christina's great uncle Chris Melia described it as a "totally senseless" crime.

"All the family want now is for him to be in a secure location where he can do no harm," he said.

"We have no sense of vengeance or revenge. We just want him out of the way and remember Christina."

Prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith said CCTV captured Simelane carrying a white plastic bag containing what prosecutors said was a knife, 10 to 12 inches in length.

"Christina Edkins boarded just after 7.30am and went upstairs and sat on her own," he said.

"Within seconds the defendant got up and moved forwards three seats and pulled out the knife, which he then hid."

Simelane then got up and walked forward towards where Christina was sitting, "leant closer to her", stabbed her and started to walk off, the court heard.

Memorial garden

"Such was the nature of the attack, nobody else on the upper deck realised what had happened until Christina reacted," Mr Grieves-Smith said.

Other passengers on the bus tried to treat and comfort Christina before paramedics arrived within minutes.

They found she was not breathing and had no pulse. The schoolgirl was pronounced dead shortly before 08:00.

"Everybody who could attend did, and everybody who did attend did all they could to assist but sadly without any success," Mr Grieves-Smith said.

Following her death friends gathered by Hagley Road in Birmingham to lay flowers in Christina's memory, while many more were left outside her school's gates.

A memorial garden dedicated to Christina is due to be opened at her former school on Thursday.

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PM promises more flexible GP hours

1 October 2013 Last updated at 06:47 ET

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David Cameron: ''This is about getting services right''

David Cameron says he wants to offer more patients the chance to visit a GP in the evening or at weekends.

Under a scheme to be piloted in nine areas of England, surgeries will be able to bid for funding to open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week.

The prime minister said the £50m project would mean doctors "fit in with work and family life".

Mr Cameron has also denied his plan for a budget surplus in the next Parliament will lead to further spending cuts.

The prime minister said the 2008 banking crisis had brought the UK economy "to the brink" and it would be irresponsible not to put money aside for a "rainy day" when the economy improved.

In other developments on the penultimate day of the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester:

• Mr Cameron said he would welcome Mayor of London Boris Johnson back to Parliament and says they could make a "strong team"
• The proposed marriage tax break is "very much a first step" to recognising the institution in the tax system, Mr Cameron said
• The prime minister said he "understood" Ed Miliband's reaction to an article in the Daily Mail about his father and newspapers and politicians should show "judgement" about press limits
• Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith will address activists later and outline plans to force the jobless to attend 9-5 classes at job centres
• Culture Secretary Maria Miller says a new £10m fund will be set up to mark UK historic events, such as forthcoming anniversaries of the Magna Carta and the Battle of Waterloo

Manchester is already piloting an extended-hours scheme for GPs, with GPs grouping together to offer extra care, in what is being billed as an attempt to prevent "unnecessary" visits to hospital A&E wards.

'Skype appointments'

The wider scheme will see practices applying for a share of a £50m "Challenge Fund", with surgeries becoming "pioneers" in each of nine regions, starting in 2014/15.

Continue reading the main story

Extended opening hours for GPs. Sounds familiar? It should.

The Labour government encouraged practices to open later in the evening and on weekends - offering them extra money if they did so.

Most GPs gave it a go. But the problem was that in many places there was just not the demand and so the funding was reduced and hours cut.

There are still plenty of surgeries that offer out-of-hours appointments, particularly in large urban areas.

But the truth is that the people who are most likely to make use of the service - those of working age - are the least likely to need a GP.

Whereas, the elderly and children who are the most frequent users tend not to have a problem attending appointments during regular hours.

Mr Cameron is also promising more "flexible access", including email, Skype and telephone consultations for patients who prefer this to face-to-face contact.

He told the BBC: "Many hard working people find it difficult to take time off to get that GP appointment, so having these pilot schemes... is, I think, a very positive step forward.

"It also links to the problems we have seen in our accident and emergency departments because the number of people going to A&E departments is up by four million since the changes to the GP contract that Labour put in in 2004.

"What we need to do is enable the right people with the right ailments, as it were, to either go to a GP or to accident and emergency."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "We live in a 24/7 society, and we need GPs to find new ways of working so they can offer appointments at times that suit hard-working people.

"Cutting-edge GP practices here in Manchester are leading the way, and we want many more patients across the country to benefit."

'Social care collapse'

The Royal College of GPs said doctors were keen to do more, but were already struggling with their workload.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: "Under the Tories, hundreds of GP surgeries are shutting their doors earlier after David Cameron scrapped Labour's successful extended opening scheme.

"Patients are also finding it harder to get appointments, and turning to A&E instead, after he removed Labour's guarantee of an appointment within 48 hours."

He added: "So I sincerely hope Jeremy Hunt isn't expecting applause on GP hours, given how they have taken the NHS backwards from the position they inherited from Labour. An apology for the inconvenience they have caused to millions would be more appropriate.

"I also hope he won't claim that this will solve David Cameron's A&E crisis. It is the collapse of social care that is driving vulnerable, older people into hospital in ever greater numbers and this is the crisis they continue to neglect."

'No splurge'

In his speech to the conference on Monday, Chancellor George Osborne said he planned to continue the government's policy of fiscal restraint throughout the next parliament - if the Conservatives are re-elected - with the aim of achieving a budget surplus.

Mr Cameron said this would require tough decisions for the next six or seven years but did not "necessarily mean" there would have to be more cuts on top of those announced up to 2016.

"What it definitely means once those years are over you cannot sort of plan another spending splurge. We are going to have to be responsible in our country for very many, many years into the future."

The government was right to focus on containing spending, he added.

"I don't think you tax your way to a strong recovery and we need to recognise that hard working people need more money in their pockets to spend as they choose."

The prime minister also insisted that the government would find the money to freeze fuel duty until 2015, describing help for motorists as a "real priority".

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Teachers in strike action over pay

1 October 2013 Last updated at 07:19 ET

Thousands of schools are closed as members of the two biggest teaching unions take strike action in a row over pay, pensions and workloads.

The walkout is affecting schools in 49 authorities in the east of England, the Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber.

It is part of a continuing campaign of rolling regional strikes involving members of the NUT and NASUWT.

The government said the strike would disrupt learning, inconvenience parents and damage the reputation of teachers.

At least 2,500 schools are closed or partially closed.

They are angry about changes to their pensions, increased workloads and government plans to bring in performance-related pay, from this autumn.

'Relentless attacks'

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The NASUWT's John Allison explains why he is striking

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: "No teacher takes strike action lightly but the intransigence of this education secretary has left teachers with no choice.

"We cannot stand by and watch our profession be systematically attacked and undermined.

"There needs to be a change in the government's attitude to teachers and education."

Teachers have been gathering for a series of marches and rallies in support of the strike.

Ian Lever, from the NUT in Leicester, said: "Teachers are very angry about what is happening to the education system in this country and are prepared to make a stand on it.

"These are relentless attacks from this government, not just on our pay and conditions but on the education system in general.

"As professionals, as people who care about education, teachers are saying 'enough is enough' - we have to do something about this."

BBC News Online journalist Max Mulgrew said he had seen about 3,000 people in Birmingham's Victoria Square.

"I've seen banners from NUT and NASUWT groups from Dudley, Coventry, Warwickshire, Walsall, the West Midlands region and even Wigan," he said.

About 2.000 people had gathered in Barkers Pool, Sheffield, and about 800 assembled at Parker's Piece, Cambridge.

Susi Artis, a spokeswoman for the NUT in Nottingham, said: "I recognise that for a lot of parents this is really inconvenient and we're very sorry for that. Striking is very much a last resort."

Alison Core, a Shropshire primary school teacher, said: "Teachers do not want to strike but we feel we have no choice.

"Our jobs should not be about pay and targets. The bigger picture is the education of the children and with so many fast changes in the industry, we cannot lose sight of that."

'Share childcare'

Jane Lucas, a parent from Coventry, said one of her children was at home and one was at school.

She said: "Luckily, there's a couple of mums that we've managed to rally round and we're going to share the childcare today.

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Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent

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The confrontation isn't just about changes to teachers' pay, such as introducing more performance-based reward. It's about a different worldview of education from the government.

Such ideological disparity makes it harder for the two sides to reach an amicable accord.

Parents and children will be caught in the middle until teachers and politicians can find agreement and reconciliation.

But with the rolling regional strikes due to reach London and the south-east later this month, and the threat of a national strike before Christmas, it will take a great deal of movement to resolve the dispute this term.

"It's difficult because I do support any worker who wants to fight for the right of their pensions and pay, it's just unfortunate that it's affecting children."

Lisa Chambers, Conservative deputy leader of Suffolk County Council and cabinet member for education, said she had taken her son Alex, 13, with her to County Hall meetings.

"Unfortunately we don't have grandparents close to us and friends have got to make arrangements for their own children so he's had to come to work with me," she said.

"I have a diary of commitments to people and I really don't feel I can let people down because of this strike."

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "Strike action is a last resort, teachers have been left with no choice but to demonstrate their anger and frustration in the face of their genuine concerns being dismissed and trivialised.

"Teachers of course deeply regret any disruption to children and families.

"Such action would have been unnecessary had the secretary of state been prepared to engage in genuine discussions."

A Department for Education spokesman said: "It is disappointing that the NUT and NASUWT are striking over the government's measures to allow heads to pay good teachers more.

"Industrial action will disrupt pupils' education, hugely inconvenience parents and damage the profession's reputation in the eyes of the public at a time when our reforms are driving up standards across the country.

"In a recent poll, 61% of respondents supported linking teachers' pay to performance and 70% either opposed the strikes or believed that teachers should not be allowed to strike at all."

A further regional strike is planned in London, the North East, South East and South West on 17 October.

Plans for a national one-day walkout before Christmas have also been announced by the two unions.

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Sweden is 'best place to be old'

1 October 2013 Last updated at 07:39 ET

Sweden is the best place in the world to be old and Afghanistan the worst, according to a UN-backed global study.

The Global AgeWatch Index examined the quality of life of the elderly in 91 countries.

It warns that many countries do not have adequate support in place for their ageing populations.

By 2050, older people will outnumber children under 15 for the first time, with most of the elderly in developing countries, it said.

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• Sweden, Norway and Germany headed the list
• Britain was rated 13th, one place behind Ireland
• Afghanistan, Tanzania and Pakistan ranked lowest

Source: Global AgeWatch Index

The Global AgeWatch Index was complied by the UN Population Fund and advocacy group HelpAge International, and released to mark the UN's Day of Older Persons.

Researchers used 13 different indicators - including income and employment, health provision, education, and environment - in what they said was the first study of kind to be conducted on a global scale.

The study's authors say countries across the world face an ongoing challenge from the rapidly ageing global population.

"The continual exclusion of ageing from national and global agendas is one of the biggest obstacles to meeting the needs of the world's ageing population," says Silvia Stefanoni, the interim chief executive of HelpAge International.

"By giving us a better understanding of the quality of life of women and men as they age, this new index can help us focus our attention on where things are going well and where we have to make improvements."

While Sweden came top, and Afghanistan was placed last, the top 20 was dominated by countries from Western Europe and North America, along with Japan, Australia and Chile.

Wealth was not the only factor considered, and countries such as Sri Lanka, Bolivia and Mauritius were ranked above several richer nations.

Some large fast-developing countries fared worse than others, with Russia (78), India (73) and Turkey (70) receiving a low rank, while Brazil (31) and China (35) were regarded more favourably by the researchers.

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