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Economy Grows At Fastest Rate Since Crash

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 28 Januari 2014 | 23.17

The British gross domestic product (GDP) figure for the fourth quarter of 2013 stood at 0.7%, with growth for the full year reaching 1.9%.

Output for 2013 reached its fastest annual rate of growth for six years, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figures were in keeping with forecasts made by economists.

The preliminary result shows the important service sector - which accounts for around three-quarters of the economy - was up 0.8%.

The ONS said construction was 0.3% down on the previous three months, due to weak figures being recorded in November.

Agriculture was up 0.5% in the October to December period, while production was up 0.7% in the same three months.

Manufacturing was up 0.9% in the quarter, which was its biggest quarter-on-quarter rise since Q3 in 2010.

ONS chief economist Joe Grice said the service sector is now above the pre-recession levels, but both production and construction are still below that level overall.

Mr Grice said: "We have now seen four successive quarters of significant growth and the economy does seem to be improving more consistently.

"Today's estimate suggests over four-fifths of the fall in GDP during the recession has been recovered, although it still remains 1.3% below the pre-recession peak."

The latest figures have given a boost to the Chancellor and come just weeks after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) did a U-turn on its forecast for the UK economy.

George Osborne told Sky News: "I think these numbers represent a real boost to the economic security of hard-working families.

"And the good news is the recovery is broadly balanced with manufacturing growing the fastest of any sector, so there's evidence that our long-term economic plan is working, but I am the first to say the job isn't done and the biggest risk to the recovery would be to come off that economic plan, and that would damage job creation and mean we don't have such bright economic prospects."

He added: "Where I have had the opportunity I have focussed the effort on those on low and middle incomes.

"That's my priority, that's where my tax-cutting priorities lie becaue I want to help those hard-working families who have got more economic security because jobs are being created, but of course have had a very dififcult time because our country went through such a terrible economic period."

The IMF now forecasts growth in 2014 of 2.4%, a figure which is in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility.

The Bank of England's current forecast is for growth of 2.8% in 2014.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky News: "This is not yet the strong and balanced recovery we need.

"It's not a recovery driven by business investment - that's still very flat - or by exports - they've been weak -  what's going on at the moment is consumers are saving less and consumer spending is picking up somewhat.

"That's happening because housing demand and house prices are going up.

"We're not building the houses we need to match that that's why construction output is still falling. There's a lot more to do."

Mr Balls added: "For working people facing a cost-of-living crisis this is still no recovery at all."

Robert Johnson, managing director of Craftsman Tools, an engineering firm in Otley, West Yorkshire told Sky News: "I think the growth is real.

"We have seen a 10% growth last year and we are predicting growth of 30% over the next three years."

But one of the biggest problems his firm faced was getting skilled workers.

Mr Johnson said: "We feel we have got to invest in advanced machinery and equipment which we can do, but getting skilled people is the hardest thing.

"We have had to start our own apprentice school two years ago, and we are training our own apprentices to fill the skills gap."

And a skills shortage risked holding the economy back, he warned.

"It's a mixture of skilled people and advanced machinery that will help us go forward," said Mr Johnson.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Maisha Najeeb: Payout Over Glue Injection

A girl who suffered catastrophic brain damage after a mix-up during treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital has been awarded a multi-million pound damages payout.

Maisha Najeeb was a healthy 10-year-old girl despite having a rare medical condition that involved her arteries and veins getting tangled.

She had successfully received embolisation treatment - which involves injecting glue to block off bleeding blood vessels and an injection of a harmless dye to check the flow of blood around the brain - during hospital visits.

But in June 2010 the two syringes were mixed up and glue was wrongly injected into the artery to Maisha's brain, causing permanent brain damage.

Solicitor Edwina Rawson said there was no system in place for distinguishing between the syringes.

On Monday, Judge Birtles at London's High Court approved a settlement against Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust of a £2.8m lump sum.

There will be further payments of £383,000 a year until Maisha is 19, increasing to £423,000 per year for as long as she lives, which some experts expect to be to the age of 64.

The trust, which admitted liability for Maisha's injuries, repeated its unreserved apologies for the shortcomings in her care.

Great Ormond Street Hospital The mix-up occurred during embolisation treatment in June 2010

It said her family had engaged open-heartedly with the trust, which had allowed staff to really learn from what happened to Maisha so that improvements could be made.

Neil Block QC, said: "We can't wind the clock back. We hope there are now systems and procedures in place to ensure such a tragic mistake cannot be made again.

"While money can't restore what Maisha has lost, we are sure a great burden has been lifted from the family by coming to the settlement we have."

Outside court, Maisha's father Sadir Hussain, of Ilford, Essex, said: "We are sad and devastated by what happened to our daughter. Her life is ruined. All her dreams have been broken.

"I hope that by bringing this case, lessons will have been learned to avoid this happening to other families.

"We are grateful that agreement has been reached with Great Ormond Street to ensure that Maisha's care needs are met."

The compensation will be spent on care and accommodation for Maisha, who needs assistance with all daily tasks day and night, is in a wheelchair and has lost the vast majority of her bodily and cognitive abilities.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Lloyds Cuts 1,390 Jobs Amid Strategic Review

Lloyds Banking Group is cutting 1,080 jobs and outsourcing another 310 roles, the company has confirmed.

It said the losses are part of the strategic review, previously announced in 2011.

The cuts affect the retail, risk, operations and commercial banking divisions.

The company said 90 new roles would be created within the risk, operations and commercial departments.

The taxpayer-backed group hoped a number of roles would be shed through natural wastage.

Voluntary redundancy would be an option and compulsory cuts taken where necessary as a "last resort".

Lloyds said that since the strategic review about a third of job losses have resulted in redundancies.

The bank said in a statement: "Lloyds Banking Group is committed to working through these changes with employees in a careful and sensitive way.

"All affected employees have been briefed by their line manager today. The Group's recognised unions Accord, Unite and LTU were consulted prior to this announcement and will continue to be consulted."

The Unite union slammed the job losses and said nearly 35,000 people have been affected at the bank since 2008.

Unite national officer Rob MacGregor said: "While staff at Lloyds Banking Group continue to work hard to deliver half year profits of £2.1bn, management has confirmed it is to give 1,390 staff another kick.

"Lloyds Banking Group is well on the road to recovery, with the CEO being recently rewarded handsomely with a share bonus in the region of £2.5m, yet staff are being made redundant.

"Unite will continue to oppose these job losses and has sought an urgent meeting with Lloyds to outline the union's concerns."

 :: Watch Sky News live on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Shopkeeper Fights Off Gunman In Robbery

Dramatic CCTV footage has emerged of a shopkeeper fighting off a masked gunman during a robbery at an off-licence.

Police say two men stormed a Bargain Booze store in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, and threatened staff.

Footage shows the shopkeeper being struck on the head by a man apparently armed with a handgun, as another raids the cash register.

The victim is seen defending himself by throwing items from the counter at one of the attackers. Both robbers flee the scene in the direction of Ramsbottom town centre.

Police said one of the men is believed to be aged in his 20s, around 6ft tall, with a slim build.

He was wearing a white "V for Vendetta" mask, a black tracksuit and light blue jeans.

The other man has been described as slim, and dressed in a dark grey Adidas hooded top and black trainers.

Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 8181 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

:: Watch Sky News live on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Nigel Farage Says No More UKIP 'Walter Mittys'

Nigel Farage has hit out the "Walter Mittys" in UKIP who are letting the party down, saying he will not tolerate any more embarrassment.

Mr Farage told The Times that in the past UKIP had "got it wrong" with people who turned out to be "disappointments".

"It's very natural that a newish party will attract all sorts of people," he said.

The UKIP leader said the party has not been successful in screening out the "Walter Mittys seeking a role in politics which, in the end, they will let down not just us but themselves with".

The fictional character, from the short story The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty and played by actor Ben Stiller in a 2013 version of the film, is generally incompetent as he indulges in daydreams of personal triumphs.

David Silvester, who defected to UKIP from the Conservatives in 2012 David Silvester was suspended from UKIP

Mr Farage told the newspaper there would now be day-long assessments for potential candidates, admitting that the party has had a "struggle with talent in the early days".

He said it was "not just about the odd barmy opinion - it's really to try and work out whether these are reliable, steady, solid people".

"We must together be campaigning on similar issues," he said.

"I need us to have disciplined election machine."

But he said he did not want the party to become "a new Labour outfit".

Mr Farage has already said he would be purging extreme candidates from UKIP ahead of European and Local elections in May.

He has cut loose five MEPs from his line-up for the European and town hall elections, and the party is vetting all 1,818 candidates to make sure they do not have "extremist, barmy or nasty" views.

The clampdown was launched after MEP Godfrey Bloom caused widespread embarrassment when he branded African countries "Bongo Bongo Land" last year.

There has also been more recent controversy as a UKIP councillor for Henley-on-Thames claimed recent floods were due to the Prime Minister ignoring his warnings on legalising same-sex marriage.

UKIP suspended David Silvester, who defected to the party from the Conservatives in 2012 over the issue, after he made the comments to his local newspaper the Henley Standard earlier this month.

Last week, Mr Farage disowned the party's entire general election manifesto - which he helped launch - branding it "drivel".

He is understood to have fallen out with the main author of the manifesto, MEP David Bannerman, who has now rejoined the Conservative Party.

The 2010 manifesto, which Mr Farage co-signed the foreword to, has disappeared from the UKIP website archive.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Royal Estate Overspend Leaves £50m Repair Bill

By Rachel Younger, Sky News Correspondent

Financial mismanagement within the Royal household is putting the future of some of our finest buildings at risk, according to the parliamentary watchdog responsible for scrutinising Royal finances.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) believes over a third of the Royal estate, which includes both Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, is in disrepair and has put the cost of fixing it at around £50m.

Margaret Hodge MP, who chairs the committee, told Sky News: "Forty per cent of it needs something doing to it.

"The boilers at Buckingham Palace haven't been replaced for 60 years.

"Windsor Castle has problems with the bedrooms and the Royal Picture Gallery has buckets to catch the water coming through."

It is the first time that Parliament has scrutinised the Sovereign Grant given to the Queen to support her public duties.

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle needs repairs to its bedrooms

Since the Civil List was abolished in 2013, the Royal household has been given a percentage of revenue from the Crown Estate and is meant to be more accountable to the taxpayer.

But the committee has criticised the household for spending over its means.

According to the committee report, in 2012/13 it received £31m from the taxpayer, but spent £33.3m, raiding its reserves.

That has left a contingency of only £1m - a historic low - with no plan drawn up to pay for the backlog of repairs.

The report demands that the household "must get a much firmer grip on how it plans to address its maintenance backlog", adding "it has not even costed the repair work".

It also calls on the Palace to do more with less.

In a financial climate where many public institutions have had to make dramatic cuts the Royal household has only managed to reduce its expenditure by 5% in the last six years.

The Queen And The Duke Of Edinburgh Visit Manchester The Queen receives the Sovereign Grant to support her public duties

The committee believes there is scope to generate more income and reduce costs - possibly by opening Buckingham Palace to the public for more than just one month a year.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The Royal household was charged by the PAC in 2009 to generate more income to supplement the funding it receives from Government.

"This has been done successfully. In 2012-13 the household generated £11.6m in comparison with £6.7m in 2007-8. Work on income generation continues.

"A significant financial priority for the Royal household is to reduce the backlog in essential maintenance across the occupied Royal palaces.

"Recent examples of work include the renewal of a lead roof over the royal library at Windsor and the removal of asbestos from the basement of Buckingham Palace."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Dave Lee Travis: Sex Assault Claims 'Insane'

By Nick Pisa, Southwark Crown Court

Former BBC DJ Dave Lee Travis has admitted there have been times he has cheated on his wife of 42 years - but insisted he had "never had an affair".

Travis, 68, is on trial accused of indecently and sexually assaulting a string of women while in the heyday of his career as a Radio 1 broadcaster.

When asked by defence lawyer Stephen Vullo if during his career he was ever the "object of female attention", he replied: "I don't like the way this is going."

He initially declined to answer the question as to whether he had been unfaithful, "because to my mind it has nothing to do whatsoever with my supposed forcing myself on somebody".

But, pressed at Southwark Crown Court as to whether he had ever "fallen into temptation", Travis admitted he had "once or twice".

"Of course, I'm human," he told jurors.

"Consensual if I might add. I have feelings like anyone else. I suppose in those cases, it was very rare but I suppose I did.

"If these women supposedly are chasing after me because I was the pop star of the day, the question would have to be, why would I go and assault somebody?"

Travis also told the court how the allegations against him were a "load of nonsense" and "belittle real problems women face".

"There are women who really have been attacked, mentally abused by husbands, beaten or really assaulted and this (trial) makes it less likely that these real problems are going to be listened to," he said.

Travis again told the court he "liked women and loved women" but he would never assault a woman, adding he could not understand why the women came forward to make the allegations against him.

He also told the court his fee for Radio 1 road shows "was four pence" and was just "bread and butter" adding that "the real jam was from Top Of The Pops".

Travis was also asked about allegations he had indecently assaulted a woman during a recording of Top Of The Pops in 1978.

Describing the claim as "insane" he added: "If I had been caught doing that I would have had the book thrown at me. If I'd been caught I would have been out of the BBC."

Travis also denied any suggestion he had pulled strings to have the video edited saying he was the "lowest of the low" at the BBC when it came to production.

During further questioning, Travis described as "out and out lies" claims from a former BBC employee that he had indecently assaulted her in his studio.

He said that "people had sat on my knee" in the studio but he had never "danced with anyone", as she had earlier told the court.

When asked what would have happened if the indecent assault allegation was true, Travis said: "That would have been me gone. Nobody is bigger than the station, ever."

Earlier he also dismissed again allegations that he had indecently assaulted a female reporter at his home.

He told the court: "It's more than possible I put my hand on her shoulder but not slide it down her back."

Travis went on: "After all this I will never have an interview with a female again without somebody with me. It just breaks my heart."

He denies 13 charges of indecent assault between 1976 and 2003 and a charge of sexual assault in 2008.

Travis is on trial under his real name David Griffin and the case continues.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Missing Megan Roberts: Police Search River

Police looking for a missing university student in York are focusing their search on the river that runs through the city - and CCTV footage that shows the last time she was seen.

Megan Roberts disappeared in the early hours of Thursday morning during a night out, but friends and family only realised on Monday that she was missing.

Officers are scouring the bank of the River Ouse in York.

CCTV footage shows the York St John University student with a group of friends on one side of the river - but absent from the group when they are on the other.

Megan Roberts missing Officers searching the River Ouse near where Megan was last seen

The 20-year-old was reported missing by her mother on Monday morning after a friend raised concerns.

A North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said she was last seen at around 2am on Thursday in the Popworld bar in George Hudson Street, after a night out with friends on Wednesday evening.

Miss Roberts was seen in the CCTV with a group of people on the corner of Rougier Street near Lendal Bridge at around 2.20am. But when the group was picked up on camera a short time later at the other side of the bridge, on Museum Street, the student was not with them.

Missing Megan Roberts Police say they are concerned for Megan's welfare

While police are searching the riverbank in the city centre, an underwater search unit has also been deployed.

Superintendent Phil Cain, speaking to Sky News, said there was no suggestion of criminality, despite comments on Twitter earlier in January that suggested she had been followed by a man.

"There were some Twitter comments on Megan's account but we've explored those with family and friends and at this stage there's nothing to suggest there is any criminality involved in relation to Megan's disappearance," he said.

He added that police had since begun interviews with Miss Roberts' friends to establish her last-known movements.

"There's nothing to indicate Megan was anything other than a bright young student," he said.

Supt Cain had previously said: "We are very concerned for Megan's welfare and are urging the public to help us establish her movements in the early hours of Thursday 23 January 2014.

Megan Roberts missing Megan had been on a night out at the Popworld nightclub

"As with all missing persons inquiries we are doing everything we can to locate Megan and make sure she is safe and well.

"Her disappearance and the fact that she has not had any contact with her family and friends for almost five days now is extremely unlike her and adds to our concern.

"Megan's family are understandably very distressed by her disappearance and I would appeal for anyone who has any information at all about where she might be to get in touch with the police as soon as possible."

Miss Roberts is described as around 5ft 6in and of medium build with long dark brown hair. When last seen she was wearing a cream knee-length dress which had large brown and orange flowers on it and black plimsolls-type shoes.

Police said that specially trained officers are supporting the missing student's family.


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Andy Coulson 'Listened To Hacked Voicemail'

The Prime Minister's former head of communications knew about the illegal phone hacking and was played a voicemail left by actress Sienna Miller for Daniel Craig, a court has heard.

An ex-reporter at the News Of The World told the court that former editor Andy Coulson told him to make it look like tapes of the message had been dropped off anonymously at their offices.

Dan Evans said Coulson and other senior figures at the paper were played a recording of the message back in 2005, which he said revealed the pair were having an affair.

He told the court: "Andy came over wanting to hear the tape. I played the tape a couple of times and they listened to it. Andy became very animated, (he was saying) 'brilliant'."

Another journalist said to him: "You are a company man now."

Phone hacking claims Dan Evans Former News of the World reporter Dan Evans

The message contained a female voice saying "Hi it's me, I can't speak, I'm at the Groucho (club) with Jude (Law, her boyfriend at the time). I love you", the Old Bailey heard. Evans said he checked the number on his database and found it was Sienna Miller's.

Evans claims that after he made a copy of the message on Coulson's orders, he was told to put it in a Jiffy bag and take it to reception so it would look like it had been dropped off anonymously.

Another journalist then picked it up with "mock surprise", saying "look what I've found".

James Bond star Craig denied the story when he was confronted by Evans at his home, and publication was delayed for more work to be done on the story. It was published a week later after Law's public relations executive approved it.

Later, Evans listened to an apparently angry voicemail to Craig from Law, which said: "Thanks mate. I hope Saski (his girlfriend Satsuki Mitchell) doesn't find out."

Another story he picked up from Craig's voicemail was the news Eva Green would become a Bond girl. Evans also admitted hacking the voicemail of actor Shane Ritchie and Formula One driver Jenson Button.

News Of The World last edition The final edition of the News Of The World

Evans told the court "everybody was on tenterhooks" in August 2006 when journalist Clive Goodman and investigator Glenn Mulcaire were arrested. "There was a lot of fear and anxiety around. A lot of people were preparing to cover their tracks."

He added a senior member of staff told him "it goes without saying no more hooky stuff" in reference to hacking. Evans then started getting rid of notebooks and tapes of recorded voicemails, he told the court.

The court was told Evans was suspended and put on paid gardening leave after being caught accessing the messages of designer Kelly Hoppen for a story involving footballer Sol Campbell.

A security alert on her phone led back to Evans' company mobile, the jury heard.

He was made redundant when the paper closed in 2011 and received the same payout as everyone else.

Evans was asked by prosecution QC Andrew Edis who at the News Of The World knew about hacking. He gave 10 names, including Coulson's.

Coulson denies conspiring to hack phones and commit misconduct in a public office. All seven defendants in the trial, including former Sun and News Of The World editor Rebekah Brooks, deny all of the charges against them.

The trial continues.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Corrie's William Roache: I Did Not Abuse Girls

By Mike McCarthy, North Of England Correspondent

Coronation Street star William Roache has flatly denied raping or indecently assaulting girls.

The actor also told jurors at his trial that he did not know any of the five alleged victims who have accused him of the offences.

As soon as he went into the witness box on the first day of his defence case, his barrister Louise Blackwell QC asked him: "Have you committed any of the offences with which you are charged?"

The actor replied: "No. I have not."

The lawyer continued: "Do you have any memory of being in the company of any of these people who have made the allegations against you?"

Roache: "No. Not one of them."

He went on to say that he had an interest in things "beyond the norm and spiritual matters".

The celebrity told the jury that he was hard of hearing because of a mortar bomb explosion he had witnessed while in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

Bill Roache court case Roache arrived at court with his family

He said he had wanted to follow his father into the medical profession but found he performed better in arts subjects.

He was asked about his life in the 60s, which he said was dominated by the pressures of rehearsing and filming for Coronation Street.

Speaking from a glass witness box in an assured voice he said that autograph hunters would gather outside Granada studios in Manchester where the programme was filmed.

"I would always stop," he said. "People had been waiting there all day so I liked to give autographs.

"You would wind down your window in the car, you would sign them and then on you go."

He denied ever inviting young fans into his dressing room or onto the Coronation Street set during filming.

"It was an extremely difficult and dangerous thing to do.  Basically no - other than occasionally very close family," he said.

Roache's children Verity, James and Linus, have been in the public gallery every day of the trial so far.

The actor denies four charges of indecently assaulting girls and two charges of raping a 15-year-old girl in 1967.

The trial continues.


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