Lord Howell: Frack In 'Desolate' North East

George Osborne's father-in-law has declared fracking should happen in the North East of England because it is filled with "desolate areas".

Lord Howell of Guildford, whose daughter Frances is married to the Chancellor, drew gasps of astonishment with his comments in the House of Lords on Tuesday.

He claimed the controversial form of gas production could take place in the North East without any impact on the surrounding environment.

Environmental campaigners called the declaration "jaw-dropping" and Labour claimed it was further proof that the Tories are "out of touch" with ordinary Britons.

The Tory peer, who was energy secretary under Margaret Thatcher, argued that the same approach on fracking should not be taken in all regions.

"Would you accept that it could be a mistake to think of and discuss fracking in terms of the whole of the United Kingdom in one go?," he said at Lords Questions.

"I mean there obviously are, in beautiful natural areas, worries about not just the drilling and the fracking, which I think are exaggerated, but about the trucks, and the delivery, and the roads, and the disturbance, and those about justified worries."

Anti-fracking protesters in Balcombe, West Sussex, on Tuesday

He added: "But there are large and uninhabited and desolate areas, certainly in part of the North East where there's plenty of room for fracking, well away from anybody's residence where we could conduct without any kind of threat to the rural environment."

Despite the wave of stunned exclamations from peers, he continued unperturbed.

Turning to Energy Minister Baroness Verma, he asked: "So would you agree with me, that the distinction should be made between one area and another, rather than lump them all together?

"And if we can push ahead with this kind of gas production, then obviously it takes us fast away from the kind of coal-burning, which is increasing at the moment because of delays in authorising gas production."

The comments came as protesters demonstrated for a sixth day at a rural site earmarked for exploratory oil drilling in Balcombe, West Sussex.

Lord Howell was a minister in the Foreign Office responsible for international energy policy from 2010 and 2012 and energy secretary from 1979 to 1981 under Margaret Thatcher.

Labour's Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton was among those to speak out against his comments.

She said: "I declare an interest as a resident of Lancashire, who is aware of the enormous beauty of the Trough of Bowland.

"Would you, Minister, join with me in condemning the alleged remarks of protesters in the south of England, that all the fracking could be done in the north of England?

George Osborne with wife Frances, Lord Howell's daughter

"And will you join with me in insisting that the beauty of Lancashire is as important, not more but as important, as the beauties surrounding, for example, Guildford?"

Baroness Verma agreed with Lord Howell that some areas of landscape would not be suitable for fracking and said he had made "some very important points".

Addressing Baroness Farrington, she added: "I'm sure that my noble friend did not say that Lancashire was (not) as beautiful. All parts of this great country are beautiful."

A Government spokesman later added: "Lord Howell is not a minister and does not speak for the Government. He has not been a Government adviser since April 2013."

James Wharton, the Tory MP for Stockton South, added: "I think his comments about the North East are foolish and ill-informed."

Tony Bosworth from Friends of the Earth said: "The Government's ill-conceived fracking plans aren't something that can be quietly brushed under the carpet 'up north' - as the villages resisting the drillers in the Tory heartlands of England's south show.

"It's time to pull the plug on the UK's dirty fossil fuel addiction and develop clean energy that won't cost people all over England their green and pleasant land."

Fracking involves drilling holes deep into the ground and then using high-pressure liquid to fracture shale rocks to release gas trapped inside.

Mr Osborne has said it has "huge potential" and plans for major tax breaks for shale gas income were unveiled earlier this month, to the fury of environmental campaigners.

They claim investment in the industry will distract from moves to develop renewable energy sources and also fear fracking could pollute water supplies and blight the countryside.

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David Tebbutt: Death Sentence Over Kenya Murder

A Kenyan who led a gang of pirates to a holiday resort where they murdered a British tourist has been sentenced to death for his part in the attack.

Ali Babitu Kololo was found guilty of robbery with violence, two years after the gang burst into David Tebbutt's villa in the remote Kiwayu Safari Village, shooting him dead before kidnapping his wife Judith.

She was held hostage in Somalia for more than six months before eventually being released.

Kololo, who was sacked from his job at the resort several months before Mr Tebbutt was killed, was convicted following an investigation by the Kenyan authorities and SO15, the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.

In addition to the death penalty, Kololo was given seven years in jail for his part in Mrs Tebbutt's abduction.

"I am innocent," he said after the sentence was announced. "Let the court do what it wants to do. I have been victimised in this, since I was also kidnapped."

Judith Tebbutt was staying with her husband David in a grass-woven hut

Commander Richard Walton, head of SO15, said: "Kololo played a key role in this murder and kidnap, bringing the attackers to the resort and helping them search for victims.

"The Kenyan investigation remains ongoing and we are committed to helping them bring David's killers and those who put Judith through such a long ordeal to justice.

"I'd like to pay tribute to Judith, her son Oliver and their family who have all shown extraordinary courage and dignity.

"The investigation team have also shown great skill and tenacity in assisting this Kenyan investigation."

The Tebbutts, from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, travelled to Kiwayu Safari Village after visiting the Masai Mara game reserve in September 2011.

The beach at Kiwayu Safari Village resort where Mr Tebbutt was killed

Mrs Tebbutt, who is believed to have been freed after her family paid an £800,000 ransom, is said to have felt nervous about security after arriving to find no other guests were staying at the resort.

She was allegedly forced to run along the beach and was hit on the back of the head with a rifle before being bundled into a boat.

She was only told of her husband's death two weeks after she was kidnapped.

Kenya has not carried out the death penalty for 26 years and most sentences for death row prisoners are commuted to life imprisonment.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We welcome efforts by the Kenyan authorities to bring those responsible for the kidnap of Judith Tebbutt and the murder of her husband, David, to justice.

"Today's news that Ali Babitu Kololo has been found guilty of robbery with violence is a positive development, but the wider Kenya investigations continue."

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Cybercrime: Britain 'Losing The War' Say MPs

The threat of a cyberassault on Britain is considered so serious it is marked as a higher threat than a nuclear attack, according to an influential group of MPs.

Despite being the preferred target of online criminals in 25 countries, the UK is still "complacent" towards cybercrime as victims are "hidden in cyberspace", the Home Affairs Select Committee said.

The group of MPs said funding and resources for tackling online crime, which includes identity theft, industrial espionage, credit card fraud and child exploitation, has not been sufficiently allocated.

Cybercriminals in 25 countries are said to be targeting the UK

Tougher sentences for online criminals and improved training for police officers are recommended by the committee to deal with the growing threat.

Committee chair Keith Vaz said: "We are not winning the war on online criminal activity. We are being too complacent about these e-wars because the victims are hidden in cyberspace.

"The threat of a cyberattack to the UK is so serious it is marked as a higher threat than a nuclear attack.

Christopher Whitehead, the hacker at the heart of an attack on Paypal

"You can steal more on the Internet than you can by robbing a bank.

"If we don't have a 21st century response to this 21st century crime, we will be letting those involved in these gangs off the hook."

Online crime - committed by lone hackers, activist groups and nation states sponsoring industrial espionage - has been estimated by online security firm Norton to globally cost around £250bn ($388bn) in financial losses.

The committee heard that the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau had discovered about 25 countries predominantly targeting the UK and said it was "deeply concerned" that EU partner countries are not doing enough to prevent the attacks.

The committee added it was "surprised" hackers from the group Anonymous, who cost Paypal more than £3.5m, were not given stiffer sentences.

Christopher Weatherhead, a 22-year-old university student who was described as a key operator in the group, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in the attack. 

Hidden in cyberspace: The UK is too complacent towards e-crime, say MPs

Commissioner Adrian Leppard, of City of London Police, the most senior policeman in the country on online fraud, warned the committee that a quarter of the 800 specialist internet crime officers could be axed as spending is cut.

The committee was also alarmed that the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre is having its budget cut by 10% over three years.

Last week, David Cameron threatened to impose tough new laws on internet firms if they fail to blacklist key search terms for illegal images by October as part of a wider crackdown on online pornography.

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Twitter: Police Investigate MP Rape Threats

Detectives are investigating a string of sexually explicit and violent tweets sent to an MP as TV classics expert Mary Beard outed an internet troll on Twitter.

Stella Creasy faced a vicious online attack after she spoke out in support of feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, who received threats to rape and kill her on Twitter following her successful campaign to put Jane Austen's picture on the new £10 note.

The Walthamstow MP retweeted some of the sinister messages to her 30,000 followers as she warned the "morons" behind the abuse would face justice.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "Officers in Waltham Forest received an allegation of malicious communications from an MP. The allegation relates to comments made on Twitter and is currently under consideration."

Ms Creasy has called for Twitter to take faster and stronger action against online thugs, and criticised the microblogging site's security policies.

She told Sky News: "This is illegal activity. It would be illegal if someone said this to you in the street, it would be a form of harassment, and it's legal online.

"And what we're looking for is companies like Twitter not simply to ask people to report stuff so they can think about it, but to actually work with the police so they can identify the individuals committing this crime."

She added: "It's not the technology that makes them idiots, it's because they are idiots. And actually Twitter has a role to play in helping us end the violence against women that this represents."

Tory MP Claire Perry, who has been advising David Cameron on measures to tackle the spread of extreme pornography and child abuse on the internet, has also received a torrent of abuse from Twitter users.

Ms Perez described how the online abuse had left her feeling "under siege"

The Devizes MP tweeted: "I am tempted to shut down my Twitter account given the trolling going on incl. to me - but that would be giving in."

Meanwhile, Ms Beard silenced an internet troll after naming and shaming him on Twitter.

The professor of classics at the University of Cambridge retweeted the "highly offensive" post from Oliver Rawlings, who has 243 followers on the social networking site.

In his tweet, Mr Rawlings called Ms Beard a "filthy old slut" and made a sexual comment.

Fellow users responded by condemning Mr Rawlings and within minutes he responded: "I sincerely apologise for my trolling. I was wrong and very rude. Hope this can be forgotten and forgiven."

Ms Beard said exposing trolls was the best tactic.

Talking to a fellow user about her decision to highlight the abuse, she tweeted: "It is a tough call. I have increasingly opted for name and shame. It has to be outed. And maybe his friends can say 'stop'."

Ms Perez described how the online abuse had left her feeling "under siege" and terrified in her own home.

She criticised the response from Twitter and claimed to have been blocked by Mark Luckie, one of its senior managers, after he was made aware of her ordeal.

Police have arrested a 21-year-old man in Manchester in connection with the abuse.

Twitter said it plans to include a button for reporting abuse within every tweet, which is already available on its iPhone app.

John Whittingdale, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee has told Sky News Twitter bosses may be called as witnesses in an inquiry to be held in the autumn on "harmful content on the internet".

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£1.2m Violin Stolen From Sandwich Shop Is Found

A violin worth £1.2m that was stolen from a top musician in 2010 while she was eating in a London sandwich shop has been found.

Police said the 1696 Antonio Stradivarius instrument was recovered from a property in the Midlands last week and is now being held at a secure location in the capital after it was verified by experts.

The 300-year-old instrument and two bows worth £67,000 had been taken from internationally-acclaimed violinist Min-Jin Kym by opportunists while she was in a Pret a Manger cafe at Euston station.

The violin, intact and with some very minor damage, was discovered in its case along with the missing £62,000 Peccatte bow and a bow made by the School of Bazin, valued at more than £5,000.

Korean-born Ms Kym, 35, said: "It's been a very difficult journey; I still can't quite believe what has happened. The loss of the instrument, and the acute responsibility I felt, was at the back of my mind at every moment of the day.

"I'd played the instrument since I was a teenager, so it'd been a huge part of my identity for many years.

"The theft was a crushing blow and the detectives in the case had always, quite rightly, been very careful not to give me false hope. When they told me the good news, it didn't feel real.

Min-Jin Kym performs on stage. Pic: www.min-jin.com

"I've now gone from devastation to the other end of the scale - an incredible feeling of elation that hasn't left me. I'm still feeling the butterflies in my stomach and am on cloud nine."

Following a public appeal for information and the release of CCTV images on the BBC's Crimewatch, John Maughan, 32, and two teenagers were later sentenced in connection with the theft in 2011 but the violin and bows had not been recovered - until now.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Taylor, who led the hunt, said: "We're absolutely delighted to have recovered the Stradivarius violin after a long and very complex investigation.

"Though it took some time to successfully locate and recover the violin, we were confident it had remained in the UK.

"I always maintained that its rarity and distinctiveness would make any attempt to sell it extremely difficult, if not futile, because established arts and antiques dealers would easily recognise it as stolen property."

The violin's recovery comes as BTP launches Operation Magnum, a long-term initiative to reduce thefts, including pickpocketing, snatch thefts and luggage thefts, at railway stations across the country.

The operation aims to disrupt and deter thieves who target unsuspecting commuters and tourists, while also educating members of the public about how they can best look after their property on trains and at stations.

Louise Deacon, from insurance group Lark, said: "We are looking forward to the outcome of our experts' assessment on the condition of the instrument so we can then liaise with Ms Kym with regards to purchasing back the Stradivari."

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Court Challenge Against 'Bedroom Tax' Fails

The High Court has dismissed claims the Government's so-called "bedroom tax" unlawfully discriminates against disabled people.

Campaigners had been fighting to block the controversial housing benefit regulations that came into force on April 1.

Despite losing, they welcomed court criticism that the Government had not done enough to provide for disabled children.

Opponents argue the new rules penalise families with children who cannot share rooms because of a disability.

Judges noted that the coalition had been aware since May last year that the law must be changed but had failed to act in time.

Lord Justice Laws, sitting with Mr Justice Cranston, said the current state of affairs "cannot be allowed to continue".

Lawyers acting for disabled people said the ruling meant the Government now had to act "very speedily" to address the problem.

Under the coalition's clampdown, tenants considered to be under-occupying their accommodation have their housing benefit cut.

Tenants with one spare room have a reduction of 14% and those with two or more spare lose 25% of their cash.

Human rights lawyers argue that families who do not move into smaller homes face building up arrears and will be kicked out anyway.

Ten cases were brought before London's High Court to illustrate the serious impact of the regulations on disabled people.

Housing charity Shelter condemned the judges' decision and claimed it raised the risk of homelessness.

Chief executive Campbell Robb said: "This ruling is devastating news for disabled adults and families with disabled or vulnerable children, who will be put at real risk of homelessness for having a bedroom they just can't do without.

"We're really concerned that these families will now face a real struggle to meet their rent and may end up losing their home."

Sense, the national charity for the deaf and blind, reported a "huge increase" in the number of calls it had received from struggling families.

And National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr called the situation "desperate", with disabled people forced to cut back on food and heating to keep their homes.

"The bedroom tax is a flawed and unfair policy that won't achieve what the Government hopes it will. The only fair solution is to scrap this policy now," he said.

The Department for Work and Pensions said the cuts were necessary but insisted it was still supporting the needy, unveiling another £35m in funding to councils to help residents.

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Todmorden: Major Clean-Up After Flash Flood

A major clean-up is under way after a flash flood burst through homes and swept away roads in a Pennines village.

Walsden, near Todmorden, in West Yorkshire, was hit by up to 18in (46cm) of water last night after a cloudburst and torrential rain.

Residents said the flood caused "sheer devastation" as it poured from a culvert, ripping out huge chunks of tarmac, and destroying roads.

Water is still pouring down a side street and through at least one house.

Around 20 homes have been flooded, and more heavy rain is on the way, bringing the risk of more flooding.

Police warn waves from cars will damage homes. Pic: Twitter/@jams1999

Roger Stansfield, who was cleaning up his property this morning, said: "It started raining really heavily and within 15 minutes this road was completely flooded to the depth of my wellington boots.

"There's nothing you can do."

Rushing water ripped up tarmac in Todmorden

Flood warden Keith Crabtree said an "unprecedented" amount of rain caused "sheer devastation" in the village.

"Every road in and out of Todmorden was flooded. There's still a lot of water coming off the hillside," he said.

"It happened so quickly. The floods 12 months ago took three days to build up.

"This one, we just got three quarters of an hour of cloudburst and there's just nothing you can do about that."

West Yorkshire Police have asked people to avoid travelling through the area, saying waves from driving through water could damage houses.

A man walks through floodwaters. Pic: Twitter/@jams1999

Railway lines are submerged and Walsden station is closed as maintenance crews repair the tracks.

People in the region are still struggling to recover from last year's severe flooding, which caused more than £3m of damage.

Prime Minister David Cameron went to Yorkshire in June 2012 to visit flood victims and warned he would "robustly" negotiate with insurance companies to make sure they paid out.

Water floods the tracks but does not stop services. Pic: Twitter/@jams1999

The Environment Agency currently has three flood alerts in place - two in the Midlands and one in the South East.

Joanna Robinson, Sky News weather producer, said: "There'll be further heavy, possibly thundery, showers around this afternoon.

"Torrential downpours will bring the risk of local flooding, especially across northeast England, including West Yorkshire.

"The showers will ease and fade going into the evening, but more general rain will move in from the South West tonight.

Parked cars in the floodwaters. Pic: TWITTER @jams1999

"Wednesday will bring yet more rain, locally torrential, to much of England, Wales and Ireland.

"By Thursday, the South East will turn briefly hot and humid, with temperatures up to 31C."

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London Stabbings: Murder Probe As Man Held

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was killed and two others - including her sister - suffered serious stab wounds.

The 40-year-old was detained overnight after officers were alerted to attacks at two separate south London flats on Monday evening.

A woman aged 28 and her 17-year-old sister were found with knife wounds at 7.10pm at an address in Tilson Gardens, Brixton.

Police said the teenager had suffered wounds to her head and hands as she tried to protect her sister.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, while the girl was taken to a south London hospital and is in a serious but stable condition, Scotland Yard said.

Half an hour earlier, another woman, aged 46, was found at a property in Redlands Way with a number of injuries, including stab wounds. Her condition is described as critical.

The suspect was arrested in Leigham Court Road, Streatham

Young children were present at the scenes of both attacks and officers want to establish if they saw anything significant.

Forensic examinations were taking place at the two properties, which lie less than a mile apart.

Police said all three victims were known to the man being held in custody at a south London police station.

A woman who lives in Redlands Way said she came outside when she heard a woman screaming that someone was trying to kill her.

She said: "The woman had got out on to the balcony and she was just screaming. There was this tall, black guy who came out of nowhere - it was like a film.

"He just grabbed her and stabbed her in her back - a couple of us saw it. The children were playing out in the park right in front which made it more traumatic.

"People started calling the police and I was trying to get my daughter inside so I could go down to see whether I could do anything.

"The guy escaped but we saw her coming down with bandages and the bandages were bleeding."

It is understood an eight-year-old boy was in the bathroom of the Tilson Gardens property when the attack happened.

The suspect was arrested on a bus in Leigham Court Road, Streatham, south London, shortly before 1am.

Detective Inspector Will Reynolds said there was no suggestion it was a random attack and officers are not looking for anyone else.

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Hospital Family Test: More Than 30 Wards Fail

The Government's flagship test designed to highlight poor patient care has been condemned as "misleading" amid confusion over the results.

The "Friends and Family Test" asks patients whether they would recommend the ward or A&E department where they have been treated.

They must pick between six options, from "extremely likely" to "extremely unlikely", and their answers are put together to generate an overall score.

However, because "likely" to recommend is classed as a neutral response, critics claim the end picture can be distorted.

Indeed, nine in every 10 patients at the hospital with the "worst" A&E department in England said they would recommend it.

Patient charities also argued the results are meaningless because they are so general and may not directly relate to the quality of care.

The Patients Association said they are "confusing to navigate" and will not address the "fundamental failures" in the health service.

Chief executive Katherine Murphy said: "Asking people to recommend a hospital is not like asking someone to recommend a hotel.

"This could really be seen as a smokescreen to cover some of the more fundamental issues that need to be addressed - like the issue around poor care that so many elderly people experience on a daily basis.

"I think that it could be quite misleading from a patient's point of view."

More than 400,000 people completed the survey, which was introduced in April, with results relating to around 4,500 NHS wards and 144 A&E services.

Most appeared happy with their treatment, although 36 wards received a negative score in June - down from 66 in April.

Despite months of criticism, only one A&E department - Chase Farm Hospital in north London - was given a negative score.

And even then, 295 of 516 patients asked about the hospital said they were "extremely likely" to recommend it and another 167 said they were "likely" to do so.

One ward at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, Greater Manchester was given a negative grade.

But of the patients quizzed, not a single one said they would be "unlikely" or "extremely unlikely" to recommend being treated there.

The low overall response rate of 13.1%, which fell short of the 15% target, also raised fears would-be patients would be judging hospitals on the views of a tiny minority.

And the Point Of Care Foundation warned that it was impossible to tell whether a negative response was due to poor care or an issue such as car parking.

Director Jocelyn Cornwell said: "Some hospitals were using much better methods of collecting feedback but they have had to abandon what they were doing and replace it with this rather blunt instrument which is not good for patients, or for developing useful information to improve health services.

"We would ask the Government to think again about how more useful information on patient care could be collected and used to improve services."

NHS England's national director for patients and information Tim Kelsey insisted the initiative was a "major step forward".

"Direct patient and citizen feedback is vital to improving the services the NHS provides. Trusts can concentrate their focus on improvement with this information," he said.

"From this first publication, we can see a significant and real variation in the quality of customer service across the NHS.

"There are home truths here and everyone will expect those Trusts who have large numbers of their patients choosing not to recommend their services to respond as quickly as possible."

David Cameron, who is on holiday in Portugal, said: "I want the NHS to put patient satisfaction at the heart of what they do and expect action to be taken at hospitals where patients and staff say standards are not good enough."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt called it a "historic moment".

"By making these ratings public, we're giving patients the power to choose the best place for their care - and driving other hospitals to raise their game," he said.

NHS England will now publish monthly updates on patient feedback.

By the end of next year, it hopes to roll the test out to include GP practices, community services and mental health services. All other services will be included by April 2015.

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Vicky Pryce Is Stripped Of Queen's Honour

Chris Huhne's ex-wife has had her honour for government service cancelled by the Queen, completing her fall from grace.

High-flying economist Vicky Pryce was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2009 Birthday honours.

The honour is the equivalent of a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) but is just a different order.

Pryce received her CB in recognition of her contribution as head of the Government economic service.

But the award has now been cancelled and annulled and her name will be removed from the register of the Order of the Bath.

The Forfeiture Committee revokes honours where their holder is considered to have brought the system into disrepute.

Chris Huhne with girlfriend Carina Trimingham after his release

Its decisions have to be submitted to the Queen for approval by the Prime Minister before a notice can be put in the London Gazette.

The announcement said: "The Queen has directed that the appointment of Vicky, Mrs Pryce, to be a Member of the Civil Division of the Third Class, or Companion, of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, dated June 13 2009, shall be cancelled and annulled and that her name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order."

Pryce and Huhne were jailed for eight months in March after they were finally punished for lying about a speeding offence in 2003.

Huhne repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and battled to get the case dismissed but eventually admitted his guilt on the eve of his trial.

In court, Pryce argued she was forced to take the points by her then husband but her story was ultimately rejected.

Allegations about the points swap only emerged in the press in 2011 after the senior Lib Dem dumped his wife for another woman.

During Pryce's trial, it emerged she had deliberately leaked the story in a bid to "nail" her former husband as revenge for his betrayal.

The pair, who have three children together, were released in May after almost two months behind bars and have to wear electronic tags.

Greek-born Pryce, a regular TV pundit before her conviction, immediately announced she was publishing a book on her experiences called Prisonomics.

She also recently gave evidence to a Lords committee on the eurozone crisis.

By contrast, Huhne - who was once seen as a future Lib Dem party leader - has kept a low profile since leaving jail.

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