Terror Suspect Absconds Sparking Police Hunt

A suspected terrorist has gone missing, police have said.

Ibrahim Magag, 28, absconded from a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (Tpims) notice after failing to meet his overnight residence condition on Boxing Day.

He was last seen in the Camden area of north London on the same day at 5.20pm.

A Met spokesman said: "The Counter Terrorism Command immediately launched inquiries to trace the man and these continue. Public safety remains our priority.

"At the request of the police an anonymity order imposed by a court was lifted today to allow a public appeal.

"Anyone who sees this man or knows of his whereabouts should not approach him, but call 999 immediately."

He added: "Ibrahim Magag is not considered at this time to represent a direct threat to the British public."

Magag is described as a black man of Somali origin, 6ft 2in and of slim to medium build. He has a beard, but detectives warned he may try to change his appearance.

He was last seen wearing a khaki robe, a black Berghaus windcheater and navy Converse trainers.

Security Minister James Brokenshire said: "National security is the Government's top priority and the police are doing everything in their power to apprehend this man as quickly as possible.

"The Home Secretary, on police operational advice, today applied to the High Court for an order protecting anonymity to be lifted in order to assist withtheir investigation.

"The Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measure in this case was intended to prevent fundraising and overseas travel. We do not believe his disappearance is linked to any terrorism planning in the UK."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.

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New Year Celebrations: UK Welcomes In 2013

Large crowds lined the banks of the River Thames in London and the streets of Edinburgh as the UK welcomed the start of the New Year.

Along the Thames, up to 250,000 people watched a major fireworks display which saw the night sky illuminated with pyrotechnics to round-off a momentous year.

Revellers were able to watch clips from the 2012 Olympic Games during an 11-minute firework display set around the London Eye. Millions more watched it all on television.

In Edinburgh, tens of thousands of people descended on the streets of Scotland's capital for the world-famous Hogmanay celebrations.

Around 75,000 party-goers counted down the last 10 seconds of 2012 before joining in a mass rendition of Auld Lang Syne after the clock struck midnight.

Scottish rockers Simple Minds headlined the Hogmanay concert and street party.

The View, Bwani Junction, Reverend and the Makers and The OK Social Club also played, and fireworks were set off to mark the start of 2013.

Fireworks explode around the London Eye

Pete Irvine, artistic director of the Hogmanay celebrations, said: "I think it's going really well this year. It's really, really busy here tonight - probably busier than we've seen it in some time because the weather is so good."

Following their hard work during the London 2012 Games, more than 150 of the mayor's "Team London Ambassadors" volunteered at the Thames event to help ensure it was a success.

They gave out maps, helped direct people to the viewing areas, and provided guidance and advice on getting home safely.

As daylight broke in London, some 200 clean-up staff cleared 160 tonnes of rubbish left by revellers in Westminster.

The workers took just six hours to clear the streets ahead of today's New Year's Day parade in the city centre.

The Metropolitan Police said 96 arrests were made during Monday night's celebrations, with drunkenness, public disorder and assault the most common offences.

More than 3,500 police supported the organisers and stewards of the event, working alongside colleagues from the British Transport Police and other emergency services to keep revellers safe.

Kisses exchanged during Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh

Chief Inspector John Williams said: "This year saw the viewing areas fill up earlier than ever before with thousands of revellers coming to see in the new year London-style.

"Officers worked hard, alongside the stewards, in very large crowds to keep people safe in what is a challenging policing environment, helping to ensure revellers and visitors alike could make their way home at the end of the night."

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "What an amazing end to an incredible year.

"Watched by hundreds of thousands in the capital and millions around the globe, London has proved, yet again, that it can pull off spectacular world-class events in style."

Today's New Year's Day parade will see a procession of Olympic Games Makers, drummers, stilt walkers and Bolivian dancers greet 2013 as they snake their way through central London.

The New Year celebrations got under way in Edinburgh as early as Sunday night, when a torchlight parade was held.

A record crowd estimated at 35,000, including 7,000 torch carriers, were led by the massed pipes and drums and the Up Helly Aa' Vikings from Shetland.

The procession made its way through the city streets to the burning of the effigy of a Viking boat and a spectacular Son et Lumiere display on Calton Hill.

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Bulging Bill Of Britain's Obesity Epidemic

By Gerard Tubb, Sky News Correspondent

Britain is in the grip of an obesity epidemic costing £5bn a year - and not enough is being done to tackle it, according to the Royal College of Physicians.

A report by the RCP says severely overweight patients are suffering from what it calls "patchy" NHS services and a lack of joined-up thinking from the Government.

Thirty-one-year-old Matthew Briggs, from Strensall, near York, says the NHS was of little help when he weighed more than 31 stone.

Now more than 17 stone lighter, and Slimming World's 2012 champion, he says he was offered slimming pills and a drastic diet.

"They gave me very limited options of what I could have," he said.

"You only see your GP for 15 or 20 minutes (and) you've got an entire week or month before you see them again."

He says he eventually relied on a combination of willpower and encouragement from other overweight people to help him slim down so much he is now training for the London Marathon.

The RCP report calls for teams of specialists to be set up around the country along with a national anti-obesity group similar to Action on Smoking and Health, which is credited with helping to reduce the number of people who smoke.

The authors also want to see an obesity champion in each NHS trust, better training for health care professionals, more research into obesity and help for overweight NHS staff.

With around a quarter of UK adults classed as obese, the report says too many doctors and nurses are seriously overweight and setting a bad example to the people they are trying to treat.

Professor John Wass, academic vice-president of the RCP, said: "Britain is getting bigger and whilst we try to prevent the increase in obesity, we must also prepare the NHS for the influx of patients presenting with severe complex obesity."

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "We are committed to tackling obesity and are taking action to help people keep a healthy weight and prevent them needing hospital care for obesity-related conditions.

"The medical profession has a key role in providing advice and treatment to people who are overweight or obese, and the Royal College of Physicians can help its members do this."

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Prostate Cancer: Funding Shortfall Charity Warns

Research into the most common male cancer in the UK is chronically underfunded compared with its female equivalent, a charity has warned.

New figures show that although it is the fourth most common cancer overall, prostate cancer lies 20th in the league table of annual cancer research spending.

The figures, published by Prostate Cancer UK, show that breast cancer - the most common female cancer which has a similar death rate as prostate cancer - received more than double the annual research spend.

While breast cancer research received £853 per case diagnosed, prostate cancer research received £417.

Prostate cancer kills one man every hour.

The number of men with the disease is rising and it is predicted to become the most common cancer of all in the UK by 2030, according to Prostate Cancer UK.

The charity has launched a new campaign, the Sledgehammer Fund, which aims to generate cash to support its work to increase research spending into the disease, as well as improve the support men receive.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "As part of our commitment to improving cancer survival, including ensuring better treatments for all patients, we have invested £104m into cancer research over the past year.

"Improving outcomes for men with cancer will be essential in meeting this aim.

"That is why we are investing £35m in the biggest publicly funded clinical trial ever to take place in this country to look at the effectiveness of treatments for prostate cancer."

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Think Tank Warns Of Sluggish 'Groundhog' 2013

A think tank has warned that 2013 could turn out to be a "groundhog year" with a repeat of sluggish growth and crisis in Europe seen in 2012.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said that consumer and business spirits have been so thoroughly dampened by talk of years of austerity ahead that the economy mail fail to grown again this year.

In a gloomy New Year message, IPPR chief economist Tony Dolphin said the Government "still does not have a path back to growth" and appeared to be pinning hopes on "something just turning up".

The Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast of 1.2% GDP growth in 2013 and 2% in 2014 depend on a "very unlikely" readiness for hard-pressed households to drop the habits of the last four years and take on additional debt, he added.

The IPPR is calling on the Government to boost demand in the economy, pump more investment into infrastructure, establish a British Investment Bank and guarantee a minimum wage job in charity or local government for anyone unemployed for more than a year.

Mr Dolphin said: "Policy-makers appear to have little idea how to boost growth in the economy and are left hoping that the news will get better.

"The risk is that 2013 could be groundhog year for the UK economy.

"The latest forecasts suggest growth in 2013 will be weak, but better than in 2012, and that unemployment will rise.

"The risk is that they are too optimistic about growth, but that - unlike in 2012 - they are right about unemployment."

He added: "How this plays out politically will depend to some extent on what happens to unemployment.

"In 2012, the double-dip recession did less damage to the credibility of Government economic policy than it might have done because employment increased and unemployment fell by more than expected.

"The best way to describe the outlook for the UK economy is 'uncertain'."

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Stephen Hawking Kills Off GoCompare Singer In Ad

Professor Stephen Hawking is set to star in the latest Go Compare advert - and hurtle the much-hated singer into a black hole.

The physicist and former Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge University is the latest celebrity to star in the website's adverts - where well-known figures plot to destroy fictitious opera singer Gio Compario.

The advert, which was being shown for the first time on New Year's Day, sees the 70-year-old announce to a packed lecture theatre that he has discovered how to generate a super massive black hole.

When asked what he will do with the knowledge, the scene cuts to the opera singer - played by Wynne Evans - haranguing a couple in the street before a black hole forms behind him and sucks him in.

The wheelchair-bound scientist is then shown laughing.

Professor Hawking, now director of research at Cambridge's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, said: "I confess I am a fan of the Gocompare.com adverts, but I am also an opera fan, so I was delighted to be given the opportunity to help save the nation and silence Gio.

"I hope the public find it as funny as I did."

He joins a list of celebrities who have starred in the adverts, which show people attempting to do away with the moustachioed tenor.

Ex-tennis player and Question Of Sport host Sue Barker, former footballer Stuart Pearce, survival expert Ray Mears and dancer Louie Spence have all starred.

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Pub Landlord Found Dead After Theft

A pub landlord who vanished after £30,000 disappeared from a Christmas thrift fund has been found dead.

Police have confirmed that a body found in the sea near Dover is the body of Malcolm Levesconte, a pub landlord from Shrewton.

Mr Levesconte, aged 59, landlord of the Royal Oak Pub, was last seen at the pub on Sunday, December 9.

Detectives were able to confirm that Mr Levesconte booked a return ferry ticket to St Malo in France that same evening and boarded a ferry at Portsmouth.

Police also discovered that £30,000 had gone missing from a Christmas fund at the pub and Mr Levesconte had had mounting debts.

Officers feared Mr Levesconte may have jumped off the ferry as they were not able to confirm that he had left the ferry in St Malo.

On Christmas Eve, Kent Police informed Wiltshire detectives that a body had been found in the sea near to Dover.

Tests have confirmed that this body was that of Mr. Levesconte. His next of kin have been informed.

The death is being treated as non-suspicious. A file will now be prepared by Wiltshire police on behalf of the coroner.

Following the theft, 60 families were left facing a bleak Christmas but saw the festive season saved after people donated money to replace the stolen funds.

It took just four days to replace the missing £29,000 thanks to one anonymous donation of £10,000 and hundreds of smaller contributions from as far afield as South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Australia and the United States.

Local families had been contributing to the fund since last January and the village has a strong tradition of saving through local pubs and groups.

The family of Mr Levesconte continue to request that the media respect their privacy.

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Christopher Martin-Jenkins Dies Aged 67

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the cricket journalist and former president of the Marylebone Cricket Club, has died at the age of 67.

He was diagnosed with terminal cancer a year ago, and passed away on New Year's Day.

The Test Match Special commentator was given an MBE in 2009, and served as the MCC's president in 2010 and 2011.

A statement on behalf of his family said: "We are very sad to say that Christopher Martin-Jenkins died peacefully at home this morning after his brave resistance to cancer.

"The family is extremely proud of all that he did to pass on his love of cricket worldwide with his gift of communicating through the spoken and written word.

"He was above all a much-loved husband, brother, father and grandfather. The family would be grateful if our privacy could be respected for the time being."

The official account of Lord's Cricket Ground tweeted: "Sad, sad news to start the new year."

Former England cricket captain Sir Ian Botham wrote: "Very sad to hear of the death of the 'Major' ... Christopher Martin-Jenkins. Our thoughts are with the family. A true gentleman!"

Wisden editor Lawrence Booth described him as a "warm voice from childhood and beyond".

Former England cricketer Graeme Fowler said: "A magnificent writer, broadcaster, and man. The world has lost a gentleman. Cricket has lost a wonderful voice."

Mr Martin-Jenkins was born in Peterborough and had a modest cricketing career before moving into journalism.

He joined the BBC in 1970 as cricket correspondent, and went on to work for The Daily Telegraph and The Times.

His son Robin was a professional cricketer for Sussex until his retirement in 2010, making 162 first class appearances for the county.

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Anger Over TV Show's Crude Royal Joke

The broadcasting watchdog has received complaints after a Channel 4 show featured a lewd joke about the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year 2012, presented by comedian Jimmy Carr, went out just after the 9pm watershed on Sunday and lasted for two hours.

The show, which had been pre-recorded, also included sexual gags about US President Barack Obama, sprinter Usain Bolt and singer Susan Boyle.

A spokesman for the watchdog Ofcom confirmed complaints had been made about the show, but was unable to say how many.

Most of the controversial material came from Gavin & Stacey star James Corden, 34, and award-winning comic Jack Whitehall, assisted by Jonathan Ross.

Whitehall, 24, made a joke about the bladder infection suffered by the Duke of Edinburgh last summer and also said Olympic gold medallist Bolt could "rake it in" by going to stud like the retired racehorse Frankel.

He and Corden reportedly each drank a bottle of wine during the recording of the show, and Whitehall later told his Twitter followers he had been drunk.

Fresh Meat star Whitehall was named King Of Comedy in a viewer vote for the UK Comedy Awards in December.

Ross was suspended from the BBC in 2008 after he and Russell Brand left lewd messages on the answerphone of veteran Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs.

He later quit the BBC and said one reason was to avoid the "sheer volume of negative press" he was attracting to the corporation.

Carr himself was the butt of other comedians' jokes in the summer when a row blew up over his tax affairs.

Channel 4 was later reported as saying the programme was a well-known satirical review of the year that had been broadcast after the watershed with appropriate warnings.

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Missing Jordan Cobb: River Search For Teen

Friends of a teenager who has been missing since he jumped from a ferry into a river are praying that he will be found alive.

Jordan Cobb, 16, from Plymouth, was last seen jumping from the Torpoint ferry into the River Tamar on New Year's Eve.

A major search involving coastguard rescue teams and police is under way.

His friends have taken to social networking websites to express their concern and are hoping for his safe return.

Fletcher Medlen wrote on Facebook: "Jordan you mean the world to me your (sic) my best friend and you always will be I f****** love you Jordan Cobb."

Matt Lethbridge tweeted: "Happy new year people but thought (sic) are with Jordan Cobb. Praying for you my man."

He later added: "Going sleep hoping to wake up to good news about Jordan Cobb. Thoughts are with you mate."

Lauren Prend tweeted: "Praying for Jordan Cobb to be safe, can't believe what's happened to him. Wasn't that long ago when I spoke to him! Love you Jordan xxx"

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said Brixham Coastguard received a Mayday distress call from the Torpoint ferry at 9.15pm reporting a man overboard near the ferry's slipway in Torpoint, Cornwall.

Police, the coastguard and the RNLI conducted an extensive search for the teenager after he failed to reappear and the search was resumed the following morning.

Devon and Cornwall Police said there was a possibility Jordan had managed to swim ashore.

The Torpoint Ferry, which is pulled across the River Tamar on chains, is one of the main ways to travel between Devon and Cornwall and was established in 1791.

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