M5 Pile-Up: Manslaughter Charges Dropped

Manslaughter charges have been dropped against Geoffrey Counsell after seven people died in a pile-up on the M5 during thick fog.

The 50-year-old was operating a firework display in a field close to the motorway, at Taunton Rugby Club, at the time of the crash on the night of November 4, 2011.

Mr Counsell, who is from Somerset, was charged with seven counts of manslaughter on October 19 last year.

But when he appeared at Bristol Crown Court, he was told the manslaughter charges were being dropped and he would instead face a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act of failing to ensure the safety of others.

The incident, which involved 34 vehicles and left 51 people injured, was described as one of the worst British motorway crashes in memory.

Witnesses afterwards spoke of thick smoke causing visibility problems for motorists.

Anthony and Pamela Adams, Maggie and Michael Barton, Malcolm Beacham, Terry Brice and Kye Thomas all died.

Peter Blair, prosecuting, said they had reviewed the decision following meetings with a range of experts in different disciplines.

"The outcome of the review that took place and developments, including the additional charge of failing to ensure the safety of others under the Health and Safety Act, was the decision that the prosecution will not be pursuing the manslaughter charges," he said.

Adrian Derbyshire, defending, told the court his client should "never have been charged with manslaughter".

But he added the prosecution told him it was the right decision at the time and new evidence had come forward that prompted the decision to review the case.

Senior investigation officer for the collision, Detective Superintendent Mike Courtiour, of Avon and Somerset Police, said the crash was one of the "worst in living memory".

"Our investigation was meticulous and complex. We took hundreds of witness statements, examined 34 vehicles and consulted several experts, including meteorologists, pyrotechnic and forensic specialists.

"Based on this evidence the Crown Prosecution Service took a decision to charge. However, following further consideration in recent weeks they have decided to drop the manslaughter charges."

He added that while Health and Safety proceedings are continuing they are not able to comment any further.

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Bus Driver Hurt As Violence Flares In Belfast

A bus driver has been injured after rioting loyalists hurled stones at his vehicle in the latest flaring of violence in east Belfast.

Police were attacked with stones and bottles and petrol bombs thrown at houses and a church in the neighbouring Catholic Short Strand district.

The driver was hurt by flying glass when a brick shattered a window in his bus in the Lower Newtownards Road area.

Petrol bombs were also thrown from Short Strand towards loyalist homes in Lower Newtownards Road.

One officer was injured and water cannon deployed to disperse protesters in what has been minor disorder compared to recent weeks.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers meets concerned businessmen

Trouble flared just hours after the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Matt Baggott and politicians appealed for calm.

Now in its seventh week, public disorder has continually flared up in protest at a decision to restrict the flying of the Union flag above City Hall.

First Minister Peter Robinson branded rioters the enemies of democracy and said they were being exploited by elements seeking to wreck the peace process.

He said: "You do not respect a Union flag if you are using it as a weapon to charge against someone.

"You are not showing respect for the Union flag if you need to wear a mask when carrying it.

"For many the issue of the flying of the Union flag at Belfast City Council is now a cynical cover for the real political agenda which is to destroy the political process."

So far 101 police officers have been injured in the violence, and 85 people have been charged with public order offences.

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Breast Cancer: NHS Drugs For Women At Risk

By Thomas Moore, Health And Science Correspondent

Women with a high risk of breast cancer could be prescribed drugs to prevent the disease.

New guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) recommend that post-menopausal women with a strong family history of breast cancer are given the option of taking medication to reduce their risk.

The move was hailed as "historic" by a leading breast cancer charity.

Between 3% and 5% of the 48,000 breast cancers each year are caused by genes that are passed down families. They raise the risk of the disease to around 80% - compared to 12% for the average woman.

Sharon Osbourne chose to have her breasts removed as a precaution

Currently, women with one of the genes have regular mammograms to spot tumours early.

Some, including Sharon Osbourne, choose to have their breasts removed even though they are perfectly healthy, to reduce their risk to low levels.

But recent studies have shown that taking the drugs tamoxifen or raloxifene for five years can halve the risk of cancer. Nice says the evidence is strong enough to recommend so-called "chemoprevention".

The US Food and Drug Administration has already approved the drugs for preventing cancer.

Chris Askew, chief executive of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "This draft guideline represents a historic step for the prevention of breast cancer.

"It is the first time drugs have ever been recommended for reducing breast cancer risk in the UK.

"This is exciting as, even though most women do not have a significant family history of the disease, it's crucial that those who do have an array of options to help them control their risk."

Neither of the drugs is currently licensed for preventing cancer and Nice has warned that any doctor prescribing them would have to take "full responsibility for the decision".

The recommendation is part of new draft guidelines on familial breast cancer.

They also extend genetic testing to more women with relatives affected by the disease, as well as recommend regular MRI scans for younger women who carry high risk genes.

Professor Mark Baker, director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at Nice, said: "It's wise for any person with a family history of cancer to receive appropriate investigations and screening that would otherwise be unnecessary if a family history did not exist."

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Britain Braced For More Snow Disruption

Driving Tips For Winter Weather

Updated: 11:51pm UK, Monday 14 January 2013

With many roads in the UK covered by snow and ice, motorists have being warned to take extra care.

Skidding on ice is the main concern for those driving in freezing conditions.

So what is the best advice when it comes to being safe on the roads?

The Institute of Advanced Motorists has issued some top tips for motorists:

Before setting off:

:: Plan your route according to the driving conditions.

:: Make sure your wipers are in good condition.

:: Clean your windows inside and out.

:: Top up the washer fluid with winter strength screen wash which has a freeze-resistant additive.

:: Check last year's scraper and de-icer are up to the job.

:: Check your tyres, especially the tread depth. For optimum safety opt for at least 3mm instead of the legal minimum of 1.6mm.

:: Check all lights.

:: Pack an emergency kit – high-viz jacket, food and water, boots, de-icer, scraper, torch, shovel and charged mobile phone with your breakdown emergency number.

:: If you are on regular medication, take enough with you in case you get delayed.

On the road:

:: Use the 'ice' setting if your car has one.

:: Slow down and accelerate smoothly and gradually.

:: Drive in the highest gear possible, starting off in second.

:: Make sure you can stop within the distance you can see to be clear.

:: Increase your following distance by ten times even if you have ABS.

:: Beware - light steering and reduced road noise could mean you are driving on ice.

:: Frost, ice and snow remain for longer under trees, on bridges, and in areas exposed to wind.

:: Make sure your wipers are in the off position when you stop – they can freeze to the window.

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Dementia: Doctors Refusing To Carry Out Tests

Doctors are refusing to carry out tests for dementia because they believe it is pointless as there is no effective cure, the Health Secretary has warned.

Jeremy Hunt said the country should be "ashamed" that so many people were being denied treatment which could stave off the condition for years.

His comments come as the Alzheimer's Society warned dementia sufferers were facing a postcode lottery of diagnosis rates.

It released data suggesting that in some areas of the UK, as few as one in three people suffering from the condition will receive a formal diagnosis.

Across the UK just 46% of sufferers were diagnosed in 2012, the society said.

Mr Hunt said that attitudes in the NHS and in wider society have to change.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said: "As with cancer in the past, too many health and care professionals are not aware of the symptoms.

"Some even believe that without effective cure there's no point putting people through the anxiety of a memory test - even though drugs can help stave off the condition for several years.

"It is this grim fatalism that we need to shake off. Not just within our health service but across society as a whole."

The Alzheimer's Society said that while the latest figure is an improvement on the previous year, there are still thought to be 428,500 people in the UK who have the condition but have not been diagnosed.

This means they are going without the support, benefits and the medical treatments that can help them live with the condition, the charity's chief executive Jeremy Hughes said.

Diagnosis rates were best in Scotland where 64.4% of suffers were told about their condition. In Wales, just 38.5% of sufferers formally received a diagnosis in 2012.

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Murderer Brian Grady On Run From Open Prison

A murderer has gone on the run from prison and could be a danger to the public, police have warned.

Brian Grady, also known as Brian Revill, walked out of HMP Prescoed in south Wales on Monday and failed to return, Gwent Police said.

The 26-year-old was jailed for at least 11 years in July 2003 at Bristol Crown Court after being convicted of murder and robbery.

Police believe he could be in the Bristol area where he has contacts.

A spokesman for Gwent Police said: "We have activated our operational plan with the aim of locating him and the prison is co-operating fully with us.

"It is believed there may be a potential risk to the public due to the fact that he is no longer in the custody of the prison service."

Grady is described as white, 5ft 11in, of average build, with short light brown hair and blue eyes.

He has a scar under his left eye and speaks with a Bristol accent.

He is not a registered sex offender, police said.

Members of the public are warned not to approach him but to call police on 101 or 01633 838111 if they have any information regarding his whereabouts.

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Toddler Blind Cord Death Ruled 'Accidental'

A coroner has recorded a verdict of accidental death in the case of a girl who died after becoming tangled in a blind cord.

Alexandra Lucy Hoegh died in her top-floor room at her family's four-storey luxury home in west London's Notting Hill last October.

The inquest heard the toddler was found by her nanny Melinda De La Cruz when she went to wake her from an afternoon nap while her mother Dana Hoegh chatted to a friend, Catherine Mathiesen, downstairs in the kitchen.

Alexandra, who was three weeks from her third birthday, was given mouth-to-mouth in the street by her mother as they waited for an ambulance.

Westminster Coroner's Court heard how she and Ms Mathiesen were found by police crying hysterically in the street as paramedics fought to revive the youngster.

Mrs Hoegh told the inquest the Filipino nanny - who had trained in childcare in her native country but did not complete the course - had arrived late for work at 1.50pm.

She took over from her mother Andrea, who cleaned and helped nanny for the Hoeghs, apologised to Mrs Hoegh and then went upstairs to get the toddler at around 2.10pm.

Alexandra's father Morten Hoegh is estimated to be worth £175m

"A couple of minutes after that we heard a scream, then another scream," Mrs Hoegh told the inquest.

"We went to the door of the kitchen and met Melinda with Alexandra.

"She was blue. She was not breathing.

"I ran downstairs into the street. I asked my friend Catherine to call an ambulance and started mouth-to-mouth on her on the pavement."

Alexandra's father Morten Hoegh, 39, is the chairman of Hoegh LNG - a multibillion-pound oil and gas shipping company based in Norway.

He runs the business between London and Oslo and appears on the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated fortune of £175m.

Mrs Hoegh said her daughter, the youngest of the couple's three children, had been her usual happy self and had been to her playgroup that morning.

The inquest heard Alexandra was "very adept" at climbing in and out of her cot, using a table next to it. The cot was by the window, which had a roller blind fitted.

Mrs Hoegh added: "I insisted that day she have a nap because she had woken up at 3am."

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox recorded a verdict of accidental death.

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Grooming Trial: Girls 'Endured Extreme Abuse'

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

Six vulnerable girls were systematically targeted, given drugs by a paedophile ring and forced to endure sex abuse that was "perverted in the extreme" for long periods of time, a court has heard.

The Old Bailey has been told that youngsters, some as young as 11, would be plied with alcohol and then given drugs like heroin and crack cocaine before being assaulted.

The abuse was allegedly carried out by men in the Oxford area.

Nine suspects are standing trial accused of 51 separate counts, including allegations of rape, grooming, sex trafficking and sexual assault of a minor.

A jury has been told the girls were deliberately targeted because they were either out of control or in care homes.

The alcohol and drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, crack cocaine and sometimes heroin were allegedly given to them to make them "dependent".

The defendants are Kamar Jamil, Akhtar Dogar, Anjum Dogar, Assad Hussain, Mohammed Karrar, Bassam Karrar, Mohammed Hussain, Zeeshan Ahmed and Bilal Ahmed. All are aged between 24 and 38.

The prosecution counsel, Noel Lucas QC, told the court: "The depravity of what was done to the complainants was extreme. The facts of the case will make you uncomfortable. Much of what the girls were forced to endure was perverted in the extreme."

He added: "The evidence will show that these men, sometimes acting in groups and at other times separately, actively targeted vulnerable young girls from the age of about 11 or 12.

"Sometimes the men would come across the girls while the girls were out drinking or playing truant. There is evidence that the men deliberately targeted children who were out of control.

"They also targeted children who had been sent to live in care homes for precisely that reason. Some of the girls had been sexually exploited by other men before they encountered these defendants.

"Sometimes girls already being abused by the group were tasked to find other girls for the group.

"Sometimes the men would also exercise extreme physical and sexual violence on the girls and threaten them that should they ever seek to free themselves from the grasp of the group they and/or their families would suffer serious harm."

Mr Lucas added that the men involved had come from all around England, not just from the Oxford area.

He said: "Many travelled from far afield - places such as Bradford, Leeds, London and Slough. It seems they came specifically to sexually abuse young girls, often by appointment."

The case follows a Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire County Council investigation into alleged abuse.

The men are all of either Pakistani or north African descent. According to the authorities the youngsters alleged to have been abuse are all "vulnerable white British girls".

Thames Valley Police have set up a confidential helpline -  01865 266255 - in response to the investigation that led to the arrests.

The trial is both highly sensitive, because of the nature of the allegations and the links with the Asian community. There have already been small protests by members of the English Defence League.

The trial is expected to last at least eight weeks. The defendants are all in custody.

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Train Acid Scare: Arrest After Station Alert

A 27-year-old man has been arrested after a bottle containing hydrochloric acid was left on a train.

The suspect was detained on suspicion of endangering railway safety.

Middlesbrough station was evacuated and closed after a passenger reported a burning smell on board a Northern Rail service to Darlington on Sunday evening.

The hazardous liquid had been left in a drinks bottle in the middle of the train.

Emergency services, including firefighters and an ambulance, were called to the station as a precaution due to the fumes from the highly corrosive substance, and the train was also evacuated.

British Transport Police released two CCTV images of a man officers wanted to trace, and a Middlesbrough man was later arrested.

A spokeswoman said: "We would like to thank members of the public for coming forward with information, as well as the media for assisting with our appeal.

"The man remains in custody and is currently helping police with their inquiries."

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BA Employee Nadia Eweida Wins Cross Case

A British Airways employee has won a landmark legal battle over her right to wear a cross at work.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Nadia Eweida, a Coptic Christian, had been discriminated against under freedom of religion laws.

But three other Christian claimants, who launched similar action, lost their cases.

Miss Eweida, 60, took her case against the UK government to the ECHR after she was sent home for wearing a small silver cross around her neck in 2006 in breach of BA uniform codes.

Registrar Lillian Ladele lost her case

She said she was "jumping for joy" at the ruling and was pleased it recognised the "anxiety, frustration and distress" she suffered.

"I'm very happy and very pleased that Christian rights have been vindicated in the UK and Europe," she added.

The British government was ordered to pay her £1,600 in damages and £25,000 to cover costs.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "Delighted that principle of wearing religious symbols at work has been upheld - ppl shouldn't suffer discrimination due to religious beliefs."

Counsellor Gary McFarlane refused sex therapy to homosexuals

An employment tribunal in Britain had ruled Miss Eweida, who lives in Twickenham, southwest London, but is originally from Egypt, did not suffer religious discrimination.

The decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court before Miss Eweida took her fight to the ECHR.

The European judges ruled there had been a violation of article nine (freedom of religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

They found a fair balance was not struck between Miss Eweida's desire to demonstrate her religious belief and BA's wish to "project a certain corporate image".

It said Miss Eweida's cross was discreet and cannot have detracted from her professional appearance.

Nurse Shirley Chaplin refused to remove a crucifix

"The court therefore concludes that, in these circumstances where there is no evidence of any real encroachment on the interests of others, the domestic authorities failed sufficiently to protect the first applicant's right to manifest her religion."

Miss Eweida returned to work in customer services at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 in February 2007, after BA changed its uniform policy on visible items of jewellery.

In a statement, the airline said it was not a party to this legal action, which was pursued against the UK government.

"Our own uniform policy was changed in 2007 to allow Miss Eweida and others to wear symbols of faith and she and other employees have been working under these arrangements for the last six years," the statement said.

Director of Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, welcomed the judgement

"Miss Eweida has worked continuously for British Airways for 13 years."

Judges rejected the case of nurse Shirley Chaplin, 57, after they found she was asked to remove her cross for health and safety purposes.

The ruling also found against marriage counsellor Gary McFarlane, 51, who was sacked for saying he might object to offering sex therapy to homosexuals.

The judgement said Mr McFarlane took the role at counselling service Relate in the knowledge that clients could not be divided in up in accordance with their sexual orientation.

Registrar Lillian Ladele, who was disciplined when she refused to conduct same-sex civil partnership ceremonies, also lost her legal action.

Dr John Sentamu

The court decided Islington Council's action was "legitimate" given it was also obliged to consider the rights of same-sex couples.

All three plan to appeal the decision.

In reaction to the verdict, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said: "Christians and those of other faiths should be free to wear the symbols of their own religion without discrimination.

"Whether people can wear a cross or pray with someone should not be something about which courts and tribunals have to rule."

Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty, said: "Today's judgement is an excellent result for equal treatment, religious freedom and common sense.

"Nadia Eweida wasn't hurting anyone and was perfectly capable of doing her job whilst wearing a small cross.

"British courts lost their way in her case and Strasbourg has actually acted more in keeping with our traditions of tolerance."

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