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Missing Student 'Left Man's Home In Early Hours'

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 14 April 2015 | 23.17

A man has told police a missing Glasgow student left his home in the early hours of Sunday.

Karen Buckley, 24, was seen on CCTV leaving the Sanctuary nightclub at around 1am in the city's West End with the man.

Officers tracked down the man, who told them Ms Buckley left his home in Dorchester Avenue at around 4am.

She has not been heard from since.

Detective Superintendent Jim Kerr told a news conference the man has given a full account of what happened and was not currently being regarded as a suspect but is "helping" with enquiries.

The detective said a handbag believed to be Ms Buckley's had been found in nearby Dawsholm Park shortly before he spoke to reporters.

Det Supt Kerr said her parents had told police it was typical for her not to use taxis and, as a result, it was possible she may have tried to walk home.

He appealed for anyone who had seen Ms Buckley - a Glasgow Caledonian University student from Cork in Ireland - to get in touch.

Her family have flown to Scotland from Ireland to help with the search.

Her mother, Marian, told the news conference: "We just want Karen home safely, we are desperate. She is our only daughter, we love her dearly.

"If anybody has any information please come forward, we would dearly appreciate it."

Ms Buckley's father, John, said: "If anybody is holding Karen, if anybody knows anything of her, please return her. Please let's have her back. We love her to bits."

Ms Buckley arrived at the club with friends at around 11.45pm on Saturday and at around 1am she told them she was going to the toilet.

But she failed to return and left her jacket at the club.

Det Supt Kerr emphasised that Ms Buckley was widely travelled and was "aware of how to take care of herself".

But her said it was "very out of character" for her not to return home.

Police also want to find out more about a grey car seen on the roads between Milngavie and Drymen, north of Glasgow, between 11am and 3pm on Monday.

A major search is under way in Glasgow, with police carrying out door-to-door inquiries and examining CCTV.

Ms Buckley is between 5ft and 5ft 2in with brown eyes and dark hair which had long black curly extensions in it.

She was last seen wearing a black jumpsuit, red high-heeled shoes and carrying a black handbag.

She speaks with an Irish accent.

Ms Buckley lives with three other students in a flat in Hill Street, Garnethill, Glasgow.


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Man Charged With Syrian Preacher's Murder

A man has been charged with the murder of Syrian-born preacher Abdul Hadi Arwani, who was shot dead in northwest London.

Leslie Cooper, 36, is to appear before Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court over the killing of Mr Arwani.

Mr Arwani - a critic of the Bashar al Assad regime -  was found shot dead in his Volkswagen Passat in Wembley on 7 April.

Rob Davis, from the CPS London Homicide Unit, said: "The Crown Prosecution Service has today authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Leslie Cooper, 36, with the murder of Abdul Hadi Arwani.

"Mr Arwani was shot dead in the Greenhill area of London on 7 April 2015.

"This decision was taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

"Mr Cooper will appear before Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court on 14 April 2015.

"Mr Cooper now stands charged with a criminal offence and has the right to a fair trial.

"It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."

Mr Arwani, a father of six, was an imam at the An Noor mosque in Acton, west London, between 2005 and 2011.

He is thought to have fled Syria as a teenager in 1982 after surviving the Hama massacre.

Mr Arwani is believed to have attended protests against Assad outside the Syrian embassy in 2012.


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Nurse Denies Hospital Poisoning Murders

By Mike McCarthy, North of England Correspondent

The nurse accused of murdering and poisoning patients at the hospital where he worked has told a jury he never harmed any patients.

Victorino Chua repeatedly denied contaminating saline products and falsifying medical records in a series of questions put to him by his barrister, Peter Griffiths QC.

Mr Griffiths asked him: "You are aware that the underlying and fundamental allegation laid against you by the prosecution ... is that you contaminated medical products with insulin.

"My first question is: Did you ever contaminate any medical products with insulin?"

The 49-year-old replied: "No sir."

Questions were put to him in relation to a total of 36 charges including three of murdering patients.

He responded in the same way to all of the questions.

The defendant told a jury at Manchester Crown Court that although he enjoyed working at Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport, he did not get on with some of the staff there.

Asked why that was the case he replied in broken English: "Because when I started they were already in a group.

"They knew each other and they are close. You will see them always together."

The court had already heard that, in a letter found at Mr Chua's home following his arrest in 2012, he described some nurses as "nasty bitches".

In the same note he also described himself as "an angel" who had turned into "an evil person" who had a devil inside him.

He said he had written the letter following a visit to an occupational health counsellor at work and that it was a way to "release the tension".

It is alleged the father-of-two poisoned patients by injecting insulin into saline bags and ampoules.

He is also accused of falsifying patients' medical notes.

He denies all charges against him.


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No Miliband, No SNP But Red Meat At Last

The Wiltshire sunshine shone on David Cameron as he arrived off the campaign bus at a Swindon technical college built under the Coalition.

Perhaps it reinvigorated the Prime Minister's longstanding political relationship with solar rays because this speech and this manifesto had more of the sunshine optimism and "Good Life" so lacking in the first weeks of the Tory campaign.

There was no mention of Ed Miliband in the speech at all. There was no mention even of the SNP in the speech.

Why would he, one might ask. Why did he in the first words of the campaign on Downing Street after meeting the Queen?

:: For Full General Election 2015 Coverage

What we clearly got today is more new red meat than at Labour's launch yesterday.

The Right to Buy extension to housing association tenants was first mentioned in 1979 in Mrs Thatcher's famous manifesto, but with the caveat "as far as possible".

That caveat was there because there can be no simple repeat of the signature Tory 1980s policy.

Housing associations are independent charities that need to raise funds on private markets.

The success of RIght to Buy in spreading mass participation owner occupancy was undermined by failing to replace lost housing stock. There were 1.5 million fewer council homes as a result.

:: David Cameron Profile

And the Conservatives recognised this today by promising to replace every sold home. Yet they made the same promise when Right to Buy was first re-launched in 2012 and less than half of the homes sold have been replaced.

The funding for this plan which, including new brownfield homes, will cost up to £18bn over the course of the next parliament - will see 15,000 expensive council homes sold and replaced with cheaper ones per year.

That is a punchy costing of a process that hasn't been tried on this scale before.

If it did raise this much would it make sense to concentrate the giveaway on a few hundred thousand lucky housing association tenants? Would they qualify for mortgages?

Until 1993 Right to Buy tenants got 100% mortgages from local authorities. There are all sorts of restrictions currently in place on mortgage lending.

:: Right to Buy - Your Questions Answered

Clearly this is an attempt to appeal to the skilled worker C2 voters won over by the Tories in the 1980s.

Latest polls show them falling for Mr Miliband. But perhaps times are different - the real housing pressure is not in the social sector but in the private rented sector.

Still, alongside new policy on keeping minimum wage jobs out of the tax system, and extra childcare for three and four year olds funded by the raid on the pensions of the high paid (which also funds the inheritance tax cut), the Tories have a notable suite of "retail offers" to press home on the doorstep.

It is an attempt to persuade slightly sceptical Britain that the long-term plan will work for them. That families who value security shouldn't take a risk. The calculation is that there are enough voters in this position to win the election.

:: Labour Manifesto At A Glance

:: Conservative Manifesto At A Glance

The polls suggest that is not at all certain. But above all Tory strategists think they have now trapped Labour - Mr Miliband's party cannot now offer any unfunded commitments or giveaways to improve the lives of voters.

The Conservative strategy of unfunded giveaways is not without risks. I asked the PM about the dangers of pledged £8bn additional funding for the NHS by 2020 without spelling out the how.

He said: "All our commitments are funded as part of our fiscal plan." He added that, unlike Labour, the Conservatives offered a "clear and balanced plan" and their track record meant they could be trusted to deliver.

I'd have asked a follow up, but the Conservative media handlers were oddly reluctant for any journalists to hold the microphone!

Labour promises it has some high profile policies up its sleeve. But the Conservatives have made the most of the manifesto showcase.

Now if only we could debate the actual policy platforms of the leaders.

:: Click Here To Make Your Own Government With Our Shaker Maker


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Teaching Assistant Admits School Bomb Hoax

A teaching assistant has pleaded guilty to sending a bomb hoax to a school from a pupil's email account.

Zoe Gregory, 26, admitted to threatening to blow up Ormiston Victory Academy in Costessey, near Norwich, in February.

The married mother-of-two made the threat after gaining unauthorised access to an email account belonging to student Holly Littlefield.

Ms Littlefield, 16, and Vicky Francis, 15, were arrested and held in police custody for ten hours after the scare.

Norwich Magistrates' Court heard how fellow pupils called the students "terrorists" and dubbed Ms Littlefield "Holly Bin Laden".

But it later emerged that Gregory was responsible for the threat, which she made without the students' knowledge.

Prosecutor Lisa Britton said both girls had been left distressed by the ordeal.

Ms Britton told the court: "The most important aspect is the impact on the girls. They were arrested, knowing they had done nothing wrong.

"They spent more than 10 hours in custody and must have been very distressed."

In a statement read to the court, Ms Littlefield said: "I was crying and distressed at being held in a cell."

Chris Brown, mitigating, said Gregory acted out of "sheer desperation" after being "plagued by post-natal depression".

She sent the bomb hoax email to her own work account and then reported it to the school's principal, who contacted police.

Mr Brown said: "If she had known at the point of pressing send what her actions would have led to, then of course she wouldn't have done it.

"It was an extraordinary act and reckless stupidity born out of sheer desperation."


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PPI Scandal: Clydesdale Handed £20.7m Fine

A £20.7m fine has been slapped on Clydesdale Bank for failures in its handling of payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints and attempts to mislead the City regulator.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the penalty was the largest it had imposed for failings relating to PPI - a product mis-sold by the financial services industry that has cost it billions in redress and administration to date.

The watchdog said the fine partly reflected "inappropriate policies" introduced in mid-2011 by Clydesdale which meant its PPI complaint handlers were "not taking into account all relevant documents when deciding how to deal with complaints".

The statement continued: "In addition, between May 2012 and June 2013, Clydesdale provided false information to the Financial Ombudsman Service in response to requests for evidence of the records Clydesdale held on PPI policies sold to individual customers.

"A team within Clydesdale's PPI complaint handling operation altered certain system print outs (in a small number of cases) to make it look as if Clydesdale held no relevant documents and deleted all PPI information from a separate print out listing the products sold to the customer.

"These practices were not known to or authorised by Clydesdale's PPI leadership team or more senior management."

The regulator said that as a result of Clydesdale's conduct, of the 126,600 PPI complaints decided between May 2011 and July 2013, up to 42,200 may have been rejected unfairly and up to 50,900 upheld complaints may have resulted in inadequate redress.

The FCA confirmed the bank would be contacting customers affected as Clydesdale continued to review past cases.

Georgina Philippou, acting director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: "Clydesdale's failings were unacceptable and fell well below the standard the FCA expects.

"The fact that Clydesdale misled the Financial Ombudsman by providing false information about the information it held is particularly serious and this is reflected in the size of the fine."

Clydesdale qualified for a 30% reduction on the size of the fine because it settled the case early, the FCA said.

Acting chief executive of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, Debbie Crosbie, said: "In 2011 we introduced changes to our policies and procedures that were designed to help us respond to PPI complaints.

"A number of these changes were inappropriate and have disadvantaged some of our customers. We got this wrong and I am sorry for that.

"We deeply regret any instance which led to the Financial Ombudsman Service receiving incorrect or incomplete information from us.

"These practices were not authorised or condoned by the Banks. As soon as this issue was discovered, we took immediate steps to stop it; we made the regulator aware and rapidly introduced strict new monitoring procedures to prevent any recurrence."


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Greens Vow To Roll Back NHS Privatisation

The Green Party has pledged to end privatisation in the NHS and re-nationalise the railways in its manifesto.

The party also vowed to ban fracking, stop airport expansion and halt major road schemes, while promising cash for energy efficiency measures and flood defences.

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

Party leader Natalie Bennett told activists at the heart of the manifesto was "a vision for a fair economy".

She said: "That fair economy demands the end to austerity.

"It demands we restore and enhance the essential public services to all, but particularly the most vulnerable.

"That fair economy is paid for by the rebalancing that we so desperately need, to see multinational companies and rich individuals paying their fair share in taxes as they are simply not paying now."

Ms Bennet added that a fair economy meant every worker should be paid a living wage.

"It is really not a radical statement to say that if you work full time you should earn enough money to live on," she said.

"And yet we are the only UK party who is saying the minimum wage should immediately be lifted to a living wage and should reach £10 an hour by 2020."

:: All You Need To Know About Party Manifestos

Ms Bennett also underlined the party's commitment to safeguarding the NHS, and pledged to remove all private operators from the service.

She said: "Behind that is an understanding of what privatisation has really meant for so many of our public services.

"It's meant the cutting of the pay and conditions of workers, it's meant the cutting of the quality of services and it has meant the shovelling of public money into private hands."

Caroline Lucas, the party's former leader and the only Green MP in the last parliament, also spoke at the manifesto launch and argued tackling climate change was not "some luxury that is only possible when there are good economic times".

She said the environment was not something that could be ditched during tough times "like that extra cappuccino on the way to work".

Green Party plans for a free nationwide retro-fit insulation programme would tackle both the "scandal of cold homes" while creating more than 100,000 jobs, she said.

Ms Lucas told the audience the money was there but it came down to political choice.

"It's nonsense to say we can waste billions on new roads or on HS2 but we can't afford to keep people warm in their own homes," she said.

For every £1 spent on energy efficiency measures, £1.27 was returned to the economy, and Ms Lucas insisted it was the only way of reducing energy bills while also helping the environment.

She also argued that the prospect of a hung parliament and a minority Labour government opened the way for the Greens to realise its manifesto goals.

She said: "That would give us a real opportunity to push Labour on the policies we know the public wants and which are at the heart of our manifesto - whether that's scrapping nuclear weapons or reversing the privatisation in our NHS, whether that's returning local schools to local control or bringing rail back into public ownership."

:: Click Here To Make Your Own Government With Our Shaker Maker


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Sue Perkins Receives Top Gear Death Threats

Television presenter Sue Perkins has quit Twitter after receiving death threats following speculation she could replace Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear.

The Great British Bake Off presenter revealed on Tuesday that someone had said "they'd like to see me burn to death".

Writing on Twitter, she denied she is to replace Clarkson and announced she was leaving the social media platform.

She wrote a series of tweets saying: "Guys, post the utterly fabricated story about me & Top Gear, my timeline has been full of blokes wishing me dead...

"This morning, someone suggested they'd like to see me burn to death.

"All of which goes to say that I am off Twitter for a bit. Love and peace x."

Perkins first alluded to the trolling four days ago when she wrote: "Just back from night shoot in Kolkata sewers to find my timeline busy with middle-aged man-trolls. General gist: Man do cars, woman do cake."

Fans took to Twitter to post messages of support and encouragement following her announcement.

Fearne Cotton wrote: "There are some awful and sad humans out there. How pathetic. ps you absolutely rock!"

It is not known who will present Top Gear after the BBC decided not to renew his contract following his attack on a producer last month.


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PM Promises 'Good Life' For 'Working People'

David Cameron has claimed the Conservatives are the "party of the working people" as he made pledges on homeownership, £5,000 of free childcare and an income tax-free minimum wage.

Launching the Tory manifesto, Mr Cameron repeatedly made offers to voters who worked hard and wanted to get on the "good life".

The manifesto set out measures for families from cradle to grave - identifying measures to help people over six stages of their lives.

Mr Cameron opened his speech by saying: "At the heart of this manifesto is a simple proposition. We are the party of working people, offering you security at every stage of your life."

He promised 30 hours of childcare for three and four-year-olds - five hours more than promised in Labour's manifesto yesterday - to help working parents.

He said if the party is returned to power, it will give 1.3 million families the chance to buy their housing association home at least a 20% discount.

Speaking at a university technical college in Swindon, Mr Cameron laid out his vision for a "property-owning democracy" echoing the phrases used in Margaret Thatcher's 1983 manifesto.

And he said the Conservatives would introduce a tax-free minimum wage, linking the minimum wage to the income tax personal allowance so the lowest paid would never have to pay tax.

He urged voters not to "waste the last five years" and let "Labour drag us back" to the past, and asked to be allowed to "finish the job".

Mr Cameron promised: "This buccaneering, world-beating, can-do country - we can do it all over again."

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

:: All You Need To Know About Party Manifestos

:: Sky's Anushka Asthana On Five Things We've Learned From The Tory Manifesto

Among other measures included in the manifesto, which has the phrase "strong leadership, a clear economic plan, a better more secure future" on the cover, are:

:: Raising the personal allowance for tax to £12,500

:: Increasing the starting salary for the 40p rate to £50,000

:: No increase in income tax, VAT, National Insurance

:: Raising the inheritance tax threshold for family homes to £1m

:: Seven-day access to GP service

:: An annual £8bn boost for NHS funding

:: Repeal the Hunting Act

:: Increase state pension by at least 2.5% with a triple lock

:: 200,000 starter homes built

:: Committed to four-boat Trident nuclear deterrent

Mr Cameron's repeated pledges on a "good life" available to people in the UK prompted a question on whether he saw himself as the impoverished Tom and Barbara characters from the BBC sitcom, played by Felicity Kendal and Richard Briers, or the rich Margot and Jerry characters played by Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington.

To fund Right to Buy, the Conservatives would force councils to sell their most expensive properties when vacant - estimated to raise £4.5bn a year - and replace the properties sold.

However, the Housing Federation claims the cost to the taxpayer would be £5.8bn and 40 years of failure on house-building means the UK still does not have the homes needed.

Since Baroness Thatcher introduced Right to Buy in 1980, 1.88 million council properties have been sold - only 345,000 new social housing properties have been built.

As well as extending Right to Buy at a discount to housing association tenants, the party has promised a £1bn fund for building 400,000 new properties on brownfield sites.

Mr Cameron's claim that the Conservatives are the party for workers comes after Labour said it wanted to be seen as the fiscally responsible option for government.

:: Right To Buy: Your Questions Answered

:: Labour's Manifesto At A Glance

:: Conservative Manifesto At A Glance

Conservative activists gathered for the manifesto launch were shown a video called The Note.

The video refers to the missive left for the coalition by the outgoing Labour treasury minister Liam Byrne after the 2010 election. It said: "There is no money."

But Labour has claimed the Conservatives have failed to explain properly how their measures will be funded.

The Tories say some £1.4bn a year of the funding will come from reducing the tax relief on pensions for those earning more than £150,000. Mr Cameron said their track record showed they could deliver on their pledges.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said the Conservatives were "trying to fund Right to Buy on a bounced cheque".

:: Click Here To Make Your Own Government With Our Shaker Maker

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said the Right to Buy policy was unaffordable and did not help millions of people trying to get on to the property ladder.


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RAF Sends Jets As Russia Planes Near UK Airpsace

RAF Typhoon jets have been scrambled after Russian military planes were identified flying close to UK airspace.

The Ministry of Defence revealed the news hours after it emerged warships from Russia's Northern Fleet entered the English Channel ahead of planned anti-aircraft and anti-submarine drills.

Interfax news agency reported the vessels were due to carry out the military exercises in the north Atlantic, but HMS Argyll was deployed to monitor the destroyer and Typhoons were sent from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.

In a statement on the latest incident, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "RAF Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighter aircraft were launched today after Russian aircraft were identified flying close to UK airspace.

"The Russian planes are being escorted by the RAF in the UK area of interest."

It is understood the Russian planes intercepted were Bear H bombers.

After the Typhoons were scrambled, Voyagers from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire were sent to provide air to air refuelling support while communications and radar assistance was given from the National Air DefenceOperations Centre.

More follows...


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