Sugary Drink Tax 'Could Pay For School Meals'

Sugary drinks should be taxed at up to 20p a litre, say health campaigners – with the proceeds helping to pay for free school meals.

Food and farming charity Sustain said the Government could raise £1bn a year from the duty, while also saving lives by cutting excessive consumption of unhealthy drinks.

The report has been backed by more than 60 organisations, including the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Friends of the Earth, the National Heart Forum and the Royal Society for Public Health.

Diet-related illness is now costing the NHS £6bn every year, the report said.

Sustain urged Chancellor George Osborne to introduce the duty in the Budget on March 20 and to channel most of the cash raised into a Children's Future Fund for programmes to improve children's health.

Money could be spent on campaigns to encourage youngsters to eat more fruit and vegetables, the report said.

The group's campaigns manager, Charlie Powell, said: "Sugar-laden drinks are mini-health time bombs, contributing to dental diseases, obesity and a host of life-threatening illnesses which cost the NHS billions each year.

"We are delighted that so many organisations want to challenge the Government to show it has a public health backbone by including a sugary drinks duty in Budget 2013.

"It's a simple and easy-to-understand measure which will help save lives by reducing sugar in our diets and raising much-needed money to protect children's health."

Sustain chairman Mike Rayner, of Oxford University's Department of Public Health, added: "Just as we use fiscal measures to discourage drinking and smoking and help prevent people from dying early, there is now lots of evidence that the same approach would work for food.

"Our obesity epidemic causes debilitating illness, life-threatening diseases and misery for millions of people. It is high time Government did something effective about this problem."

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Pimlico Stabbing: Teen Was On Gang 'Periphery'

A teenager who died after being stabbed in the street has been described as a "timid young man" who was on the "periphery" of a gang.

Hani Abou El Kheir, 16, was set upon on the edge of Pimlico by a gang reported to have been wielding swords and knives.

Emergency services battled to save the teenager's life as he lay bleeding in Lupus Street, but he died a few hours later in hospital.

Scotland Yard said police were "retaining an open mind regarding any motive at this stage" and confirmed a post-mortem examination into his death will take place at noon. No arrests have been made.

It has since emerged that Hani had become known to drugs intervention workers, and was believed to be "on the periphery" of local gangs.

Pimlico is one of London's most affluent neighbourhoods

David Savizon, who works for the Westminster Council's Your Choice anti-gangs programme, said Hani's name had been flagged up to drugs workers last week, and he was due to get a visit from outreach workers if it came up again.

Mr Savizon, 34, said: "Unfortunately I wasn't able to meet him. He wasn't deemed significant in terms of being in a gang. He was mentioned as someone on the periphery."

Mr Savizon, who has 12 years of experience working with youngsters at risk of joining gangs, added: "It was more of a bookmark just to see where this young person was.

"Everything I have heard about him ... he was a very timid young man."

The suspected drugs-related attack happened at 7pm on Sunday near Pimlico Underground station. Lupus Street is bordered by extensive council estates on one side and is home to Pimlico Academy.

The Churchill Gardens estate where Hani lived has become a drugs black spot in the last year.

Children as young 10 are paid "tens of pounds" to stash drugs and ferry them around.

Hani's mother, Pauline Hickey, who lives in Gilbert House, 100 yards from the crime scene, was said to be "heartbroken" and is being comforted by friends and a family liaison officer.

It is believed she or a female friend tried to comfort the teenager as he fought for his life.

Mohammed Alzubaidi, 49, from nearby Peabody Close, said his friend witnessed a gang of black and white teenagers carrying out the attack.

"He said they were carrying knives, some of them with wide swords. He said the victim was screaming and trying to get away."

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Bristol 'Hit And Run' Pair Were To Start IVF

A couple who died after their tandem bicycle collided with a car had celebrated the news that they were to start fertility treatment less than 24 hours before the crash.

Ross Simons, 34, and his 30-year-old wife Clare died when a Citroen Picasso car hit their bike in Hanham, near Bristol, on Sunday.

The car was speeding moments before the incident and police officers indicated for it to pull over, but were forced to follow it after it sped off, Avon and Somerset Police said.

Moments later the car struck another vehicle before colliding with Mr and Mrs Simons' tandem. They died at the scene of the crash.

The previous evening the couple, who had been married for about 18 months and together for several years, had a meal with friends after being given the go-ahead to undergo IVF treatment.

Family friend Diane Pullin, from Kingswood, Bristol, said Mr and Mrs Simons had been out with her daughter Shelley and son-in-law Darren.

She said: "They are a lovely family, so kind and so helpful. They'd just had news that they were able to have fertility treatment ... everything to live for."

She added: "It's just terrible and it shouldn't have happened. Two young people with their lives in front of them ... snapped away just like that.

The couple have been described as "amazing people"

"They desperately wanted children and it wasn't happening. They'd just been given the go-ahead. They were so happy on Saturday night.

"My daughter says she's got helium balloons at the top of her stairs wishing them luck and she can't even look at them.

"Like she said to me just now, 'How can I be with them on Saturday night and they're not here now?'.

"It just shows that nobody knows. No one could have thought this on Saturday night.

"It's just so sad. It's all I can really say. Such a waste of a life. All these questions of 'Why?'"

About 100 people attended a vigil for the pair at the scene of the crash last night, including some of their close relatives.

"Both of our families are completely devastated by the tragic events that took Ross and Clare from us," they said in a statement.

"A very special couple have been taken from us and we have no words to describe our loss."

Mr Simons' father Edwin was among the mourners, as was his sister Kelly, who said: "This is a tribute to Ross and Clare, two amazing people."

Police have been given more time to question a 38-year-old man on suspicion of death by dangerous driving.

A 35-year-old woman has been released on bail.

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Iraqis Seek UK Troop Abuse Public Inquiry

Scores of lawyers representing Iraqis are going to the High Court seeking an "independent" public inquiry into allegations that British interrogators were guilty of the systemic abuse of civilians in Iraq.

Lawyers for the Iraqis allege there were a number of unlawful killings as well as incidents of torture from March 2003 to December 2008 in British-controlled detention facilities.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond plans to investigate the claims through the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), which includes members of the Royal Navy Police (RNP).

Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), who are acting on behalf of 192 Iraqis, are seeking judicial review on the grounds that the RNP lack sufficient independence as numerous Royal Navy officers were involved in interrogations with the UK Joint Forward Interrogation Team (JFIT).

PIL said a number of unlawful killings and cases of inhuman and degrading treatment were linked to JFIT's activities as interrogators sought to extract information.

They argue justice requires a fully independent public inquiry.

Two judges sitting in London will hear accusations that civilians were subjected to a number of techniques to disorientate and debilitate them, including deprivation of sleep, food and water.

Sir John Thomas (President of the Queen's Bench Division) and Mr Justice Silber will be told there was also hooding, forced nudity, sexual humiliation and repeated and lengthy interrogations.

The three-day application is the second legal challenge in a case in which PIL say there was systemic abuse, as opposed to ill treatment by "a few bad apples".

Ministry of Defence lawyers are opposing the application, saying any acts that have been proven were in isolation.

British soldier Corporal Donald Payne was jailed in 2006 after he was filmed shouting at detainees who were hooded and being held in stress positions. 

An MoD spokesman recently said: "The IHAT is the most effective way of investigating these unproven allegations rather than a costly public inquiry."

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Bali Drugs Case: Briton Julian Ponder Jailed

A British man has been jailed for six years and fined the equivalent of £65,000 after being convicted of cocaine possession in Bali.

Julian Ponder, 43, from Brighton, was cleared of drug trafficking but found guilty of the lesser offence of possession.

Prosecutors in Indonesia had asked for a seven-year prison term, and he could have faced a maximum sentence of life.

Ponder has been linked to Lindsay Sandiford, the 56-year-old British grandmother sentenced to death for smuggling cocaine worth £1.5m onto the island in May last year.

She alleged that Ponder was the man she was going to deliver the drug shipment to, a claim he denies.

Ponder and his partner Rachel Dougall were arrested alongside Sandiford in a sting operation by Indonesian police.

At the time of her arrest, Dougall, who has a young daughter, insisted she was the victim of a "fit-up" and Ponder claimed he was "trapped".

Ponder's lawyer said he was told that Sandiford was delivering a present for his child's birthday and, when he met her to receive the gift, police officers arrested him.

Sky's Jonathan Samuels said: "It was alleged that he was linked to Lindsay Sandiford ... she was caught at the airport and arrested, and she alleged that Julian Ponder was the man she was going to deliver the cocaine to.

"It's something he has always denied. He was initially charged with drugs trafficking, but that charge was dropped.

"He was then charged with drugs possession after a small amount of drugs was found in his home.

"The judges did have the right to re-examine the evidence, and to re-charge him with drug trafficking.

"They've decided not to do that, so he will spend six years in one of the most notorious jails on the holiday island."

Sandiford, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, has notified Indonesian officials she intends to appeal against her sentence.

She was accused by the Bali court of damaging the image of the resort island and received the sentence despite prosecutors only asking for a 15-year jail term.

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Genetic Map Gives Hope On Cancer Treatment

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Every cancer patient could soon have a genetic profile made of their tumour so they can be treated with new smart drugs that can dramatically improve their survival.

Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research believe the technique will prove so effective that it will turn cancer into a chronic disease that people live with, rather than die from.

Work at the institute's new Tumour Profiling Unit will begin this year to analyse patients' cancer cells for changes to their DNA. These mutations allow the tumour to grow out of control and even develop resistance to chemotherapy.

By identifying key genetic changes, researchers hope to target specific drugs at individual patients.

Breast cancer patients are already beginning to benefit from such personalised medicine. The drug Herceptin is highly effective - but only in women who have tumours positive for a protein called HER2.

Other cancer patients are now set to benefit.

Professor Alan Ashworth, from the institute, said: "None of this is science fiction.

"One would think in five or 10 years this will be absolutely routine practice for every cancer patient, and that's what we're aiming to bring about."

Tumour profiling has been made possible by the rapid advances in DNA analysis.

A decade ago it took several years and millions of pounds to analyse the genetic blueprint inside cells; now it can be done in days for £1,000.

The technique is also likely to speed up the search for new drugs, and make the research significantly cheaper. The biggest cost in developing a treatment is clinical trials, which involve thousands of patients, who respond to varying degrees.

But by identifying in advance the patients with tumours that are most likely to respond, trials could be far smaller.

"Let's design the trials for success rather than failure," said Prof Ashworth.

"Basically, the way we're developing drugs for cancer is now failing big time.

"The idea of developing old-fashioned chemotherapy is going out the window."

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Belcuore Knee Death: Compensation For Widow

The widow of a man who died during a botched knee operation more than three years ago has been awarded an undisclosed amount by a High Court judge.

Luigi Belcuore, known as Louis to his friends, agreed to take part in a clinical trial testing new techniques for treating knee cartilage problems in October 2009.

But the 43-year-old died during surgery when the operation went drastically wrong as air got into his blood vessels, causing an embolism.

His widow, Penny Belcuore, discovered weeks later that she was expecting the couple's third child, now a two-year-old boy. They also had two daughters, now aged five and six.

Speaking after the hearing at the High Court in Birmingham, Mrs Belcuore said it had been "a long slog", adding: "I'm relieved today is over and it's finally come to an end."

Mr Belcuore was a 43-year-old businessman

In a statement, she said: "For the past three-and-a-half years I have felt in a state of limbo, trying to find out exactly what happened and why Louis died suddenly during what should have been a routine knee operation.

"Whilst today's approval hearing brings the civil action to an end and I am grateful that my children's future is now at least financially secure, it remains an ongoing struggle to carry on without Louis by my side.

"I know that he would want me to stay strong and I do this for the sake of our two daughters and our baby boy.

"However, it's incredibly hard knowing that both they, and the son he never even got to see, will now grow up without their Dad and at every milestone in their lives he will sadly not be there to share in their happiness.

"To be able to fully come to terms with this we need full answers about exactly what went wrong and proof the same errors can never happen again."

Victoria Blankstone from Irwin Mitchell, the law firm which represented Mrs Belcuore, said: "Today is a difficult day for Louis' family.

"Whilst Penny is relieved that the approval hearing means that their three young children will be properly provided for financially, nothing can turn back the clock and the fact remains that Louis' death remains the most appalling and needless tragedy.

"What marks out this particular case is how difficult it has been to get to the truth of what happened and whilst it is a testimony to Penny that she has remained resolutely determined in her search for answers, she is deeply upset that it has taken so long to discover the full facts of what occurred the day her husband died."

The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry, which was ordered to pay the undisclosed sum, made an early admission of liability and had previously apologised to the family.

In a statement a spokesman for the hospital trust said: "The Trust deeply regrets the tragic loss of Mr Belcuore's life and offers its sincere apologies to Mrs Belcuore and her family and would like to wish them well for the future."

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Childcare Plans: Nursery Ratios To Be Relaxed

By Gamal Fahnbulleh, Sky News Reporter

Nurseries and childminders will be allowed to look after more children under Government plans to help parents battling soaring fees.

Staff will be able to take charge of six two-year-olds rather than four, and the ratio for under-ones will go up from three to four.

Under the new plans, a childminder would also be able to look after two babies instead of one and four under-fives rather than three.

Education minister Liz Truss outlined the changes, which are part of reforms requiring carers of pre-schoolers to have higher qualifications.

She argued that they would make childcare more available as well as improving its quality, suggesting this would help to drive down prices.

But critics branded the reforms a "recipe for disaster" which could put children at risk and cast doubt on the prospect of cheaper care.

One parent writing on Mumsnet said: "How can this possibly improve childcare standards? Common sense says more children, less attention per child no matter how qualified the staff."

Another added: "I fail to see how someone can care for four young babies adequately. I do fear it will lead to accidents or even worse, simply because nobody has that many eyes in their head."

Britain families currently spend an average of 27% of their income on childcare - the second highest proportion in the world.

Despite this, the quality of care provided in the UK is said to be behind other European countries.

Ms Truss told an event at the Policy Exchange think-tank that the Government wants to bring in graduate-level Early Years teachers.

An Early Years Educator qualification will also be created, requiring practical experience and at least a C grade in English and maths GCSE.

The minister declared that nursery staff had to be paid more to improve the system, citing an average wage of £6.60 an hour.

Easing rules on ratios will give nurseries the "headroom to pay higher salaries", Ms Truss said. 

"We have learned from other countries that deliver better value and better-quality childcare. We have looked across Europe and beyond ...

"I have been particularly struck by the high status and trust afforded to childcare professionals in continental Europe."

She added: "Other European countries have taken a different approach on ratios. They think that the quality of staff is the most important thing.

"Whereas in England nursery staff may look after no more than three one-year-olds, in France they can be responsible for five - and there are no limits in Denmark, Germany or Sweden.

"That is why we are encouraging nurseries to use their professional judgment and enjoy greater flexibility."

Anne Longfield, the chief executive of families charity 4Children, said the proposals could "transform the early years profession in this country" and they were also welcomed by Ofsted.

But Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-School Learning Alliance said: "We are absolutely appalled by this fixation to alter ratios ... This is a recipe for disaster."

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said the changes would "not reduce costs and instead risks reducing the quality of care".

Chris Keates, from the NASUWT teachers' union, warned that sacrificing appropriate ratios to secure higher pay levels and more qualified staff was a "flawed strategy".

"It is more likely that any increased revenues gained by reducing ratios will simply be diverted to increasing profit margins rather than to enhancing the pay and conditions of staff and the quality of provision for children," he said.

Shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg said: "This Government has created an affordability crisis by cutting support and pushing up costs for parents.

"Watering down quality is the wrong way to try to deal with the problem they've caused. Experts are warning this could threaten child safety and won't reduce costs. Parents will be worried.

"With a £1,700 toddler tax for families with two children, and 401 fewer children's centres, parents are being locked into inflation-busting cost rises while the quality of childcare is undermined."

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Norfolk Broads: Man Killed Partner Then Himself

A mother was strangled by her partner then tied up and thrown from a boat into a river while her daughter slept a few feet away, an inquest has heard.

The body of 49-year-old Annette Creegan was found naked in the River Bure on the Norfolk Broads in August 2012 after a major police search which began after her 13-year-old daughter was found alone on a boat the couple had hired for a holiday.

The body of her partner, 41-year-old John Didier, was found nearby. Evidence suggests he had tied weights to his own arms and legs before jumping overboard to drown himself.

The girl told police she woke up one morning to find her mother was not there anymore and Didier said her mother had "gone away".

She stayed on the boat with him for another week before she woke up one morning to find he too had disappeared.

Police found Ms Creegan's body in the river weighed down with dumb-bells

As the boat was surrounded by marsh and woodland with no footpaths, she felt unable to leave and did not have a mobile phone to contact anyone.

She was only discovered when a Norfolk Broads ranger noticed the boat had been moored in the same secluded spot for several days and he decided to approach it.

Ranger Andrew Ellson said: "The curtains were closed and the motor was running. I knocked on the side of the boat and the window opened and I saw a young girl who told me she was by herself."

Police launched a search of the river and Didier's body was discovered in the water weighed down with two 17.5kg dumb-bells tied to his feet and two 15kg weights tied to his wrists.

Ms Creegan's decomposed body was found in the river nearby the following day, suggesting she had been there about a week.

The couple had moored their boat by picturesque Salhouse Broad, Norfolk

Pathologist Ben Swift said the hospital nurse was naked and her hands had been tied behind her knees.

She was weighed down with a 30kg dumb-bell and the cause of death was strangulation. Bruises to her fists suggested she had tried to fight off Didier.

Detective Constable Christina Stone told the inquest: "They had moored the boat at about 5.30pm on the Friday.

"The following day she (the girl) woke up and Mr Didier told her that Annette had left. She had no access to a mobile telephone and no means of getting off the boat so stayed there over the following days.

"Six days later she woke up and there was no sign of Mr Didier and she was rescued by a passing Broads ranger."

Giving evidence to the inquest, Detective Inspector Gary Bloomfield said: "I'm confident saying John Didier killed Annette then took his own life a number of days later.

"It seems he had planned the events of that week. There was no evidence he was mentally impaired. It was a deliberate decision to kill Annette then drown himself."

He added officers had found no evidence of any tension in the relationship and Didier's motive remained unclear.

Norfolk coroner William Armstrong recorded a verdict that Ms Creegan died as a result of unlawful killing and that Didier committed suicide on either August 31 or September 1.

"What a grotesque irony that this happened in the idyllic setting of the Norfolk Broads," he said. "What a contrast between the calm serenity of the waters and this dreadful tragedy."

Ms Creegan worked as a "devoted" community nurse for the Trinity Hospice charity in Clapham Common, London, while Didier, originally from Ohio, previously worked in IT for the NHS.

Both families declined to comment as they left the inquest. The girl is being cared for by other members of her family.

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Footballer Sex Trial: 'It Was Just Boy Banter'

A Brighton player charged with sexually assaulting a teenager in a hotel room has claimed it was just "boy banter".

Anton Rodgers, 20, denied there was a sexual element to what went on in the room where photographs were taken on mobile phones.

He said: "This was never the case. It was just a bit of boy banter. It was a laugh but it seems stupid now. She was just giggling. She was laughing. She was bubbly."

Rodgers denied the 19-year-old was asleep. He said team-mate Leon Redwood came into the room and sprayed the initials GB, representing fellow player George Barker, onto her thigh with shaving foam.

Anton's father, Liverpool manager Brendan, watched from the public gallery

Rodgers said he took a photograph of Barker making a thumbs-up sign next to the girl.

"It was a funny picture at the time. That's all it meant," added Rodgers.

Rodgers' father, Liverpool football manager Brendan Rodgers, sat at the back of the court with relatives of the accused.

Brighton and Hove Albion players Rodgers, Barker, 21, Lewis Dunk, 21, and former team-mate Steve Cook, 21, who now plays for Bournemouth, deny sexual assault and voyeurism.

The prosecution says the players assaulted the drunken woman when she was asleep and took pictures as a "record of their conquest".

They were arrested six months later, in July 2011, following a night-out clubbing in Brighton to celebrate winning a local cup.

The trial continues.

Cook, Barker, Rodgers and Dunk (L-R)

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