Formula E Cars Race Across London Bridge

By Joe Tidy, Sky News Reporter

Eight Formula One-style cars with a top speed of 150mph have raced in front of the Houses of Parliament to launch the forthcoming all-electric championship.

One car also performed a doughnut on the empty road across London's Westminster Bridge.

In order to pull off the photo opportunity, organisers started setting up from dawn and had the bridge to themselves until 6am.

The video has been released as part of the official Global Launch for the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship.

The well-funded racing series, backed by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), will host 10 zero-emission races in 10 cities around the world.

The electric cars line up on Westminster bridge

As part of the launch, Battersea Park in South London was revealed as the London race venue.

The race around the park will be the season finale and is scheduled for June 27, 2015.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "Fast, fun and no doubt furious, the FIA Formula E Championship race in London is set to provide an awesome addition to the capital's sporting calendar.

"The atmosphere will quite literally be electric and Battersea, which is already booming with the buzz of regeneration, will be alive with the excitement that this new, world-class event will no doubt spark."

Mahindra Racing's Karun Chandhok doing a donut

The sport was set up with the aim of sparking interest in electric cars and boosting innovation in the technology used to run them.

The idea for the championship has been criticised in the past and was dubbed "the milk float challenge", but as the first race draws nearer, it has become a highly anticipated format for motorsport fans.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, businessman Sir Richard Branson and Formula One legend Alain Prost have all set up teams ahead of the inaugural racing series.

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Rolf Harris: 12 Women Seeking Compensation

The Fall Of One Of Britain's Best-Loved Stars

Updated: 6:09pm UK, Monday 30 June 2014

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

Despite being born in Australia, Rolf Harris' lengthy career in show business, spanning almost six decades, has ensured he is one of Britain's best-known and, until now, best-loved stars.

From his humble beginnings as a swimming champion in his native Western Australia, he moved to London in 1952 after deciding to abandon a teaching career and study art instead.

Within weeks he was singing in ex-pat clubs and two years after stepping off a liner, he signed a contract with the BBC which marked the start of a lengthy association with the broadcaster.

Artist, singer-songwriter and TV star, his legendary career earned him an MBE, OBE and CBE and Australian honours as well.

He was given a BAFTA fellowship, painted a portrait of the Queen and has met other members of the royal family countless times.

Harris also made numerous TV commercials and appeared at Glastonbury six times - opening the event in 2010 - and singing in front of a crowd of almost 100,000.

Countless generations of children and adults know him through iconic programmes from the 70s, 80s and 90s, such as The Rolf Harris Show, Rolf Harris Cartoon Time, Animal Hospital and Rolf On Art.

His wife of 56 years, Alwen, and daughter Bindi, 49, supported him in court throughout the seven-week trial, although only Bindi was called to give evidence in the case.

She described how she wanted to ''stab herself with forks'' after discovering Harris had been having a relationship with her best friend, who was the subject of seven of the charges.

In his 2001 autobiography, titled after his catchphrase "Can You Tell What It Is Yet", there is a telling passage in which he explained his feelings about his family.

He wrote: ''Alwen and Bindi have to come first. It has only been in the last five years that I have realised this. Late, but better than never.''

Telling, because it was in 1997 Harris wrote to the father of Bindi's best friend to tell him of the affair he had been having with his daughter when his own daughter found out.

He also wrote of how, as his career took off in the 60s, he found himself ogling women in backstage dressing rooms set aside for dancers he worked with.

Harris wrote: ''I tried not to watch - or be seen watching - but it wasn't easy, I spent most of my time reading the same page of a book 14 times realising I was holding it upside down.''

It's also clear he had a difficult relationship with his daughter and wife - blaming himself for not being with them as he devoted his time to his career - leaving them a painful second.

In the early 1960s as his career hit the big time, Alwen visited Australia with him and it later emerged she had contemplated suicide, Harris only finding out about it 30 years later when he found her diary.

Harris described how ''the words struck me like hammer blows'' adding that he ''felt terrible and I kicked myself for my selfishness''.

His awards and honours count for nothing and he will now swap his luxury Thames-side home in Berkshire for the cold harsh surroundings of a prison cell, as a convicted sex offender.

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Coulson 'Didn't Know Phone Hacking Was Illegal'

Former News Of The World (NOTW) editor Andy Coulson was never told phone hacking was illegal during his time at the now-defunct tabloid, a court has heard.

The ex-Number 10 spin doctor - who faces up to two years in prison after being found guilty of conspiring to intercept voicemails - has blamed lawyers for not telling him it was an offence in a bid to avoid the harshest jail sentence.

In mitigation, his lawyer Timothy Langdale QC said: "Despite the seriousness, the facts of the case do not justify the maximum penalty."

Mr Langdale told the Old Bailey it was clear from the trial that Coulson was not alone in not knowing phone hacking was illegal.

"There are some features of this sorry affair which must be mentioned because they are capable of having, we submit should have, a mitigating effect on any sentence," he said.

"Perhaps the most salient factor of the evidence is that no one at the NOTW or the newspaper industry at large in 2000/06 realised that interception of voicemail messages was illegal, in the sense of criminal."

The NOTW's own legal department, whom Coulson consulted frequently, never advised him that it was a crime, the court was told.

Mr Langdale accepted that hacking was widespread when Coulson was editor between 2003 and 2006, but rejected the prosecution statement that the newspaper "became a thoroughly criminal enterprise" during that time.

After he left, Coulson went on to be a "trustworthy and straightforward" director of communications for Prime Minister David Cameron, Mr Langdale said.

Clockwise: Evans, Thurlbeck, Coulson, Mulcaire, Weatherup and Miskiw

He continued: "Because of his role after he left the NOTW, because of the wider background to the wider investigation, Mr Coulson has become something of a lightning conductor for the political aspect."

He said the "media furore" immediately after his conviction demonstrated this vividly, but Mr Langdale maintained Coulson was still a "thoroughly decent" man.

Prosecutor Andrew Edis QC disputed Mr Langdale's assertion that Coulson was unaware of the illegality of phone hacking.

Evidence showed Coulson knew hacking was illegal from the summer of 2004, around the time he heard of the David Blunkett voicemail to Kimberly Quinn, Mr Edis said.

Coulson, from Charing in Kent, will be sentenced on Friday alongside three of his former colleagues and private detective Glenn Mulcaire, who all admitted their part in the phone hacking plot last year.

The prosecution has also asked for costs totalling £750,000 be paid following the trial.

NOTW news editor Greg Miskiw, 64, from Leeds; chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, 52, of Esher, Surrey; and James Weatherup, 58, of Brentwood in Essex have all admitted one general count of conspiring together and with others to illegally access voicemails between October 2000 and August 2006.

Mulcaire, 43, from Sutton in south London, was first convicted of phone hacking with NOTW royal reporter Clive Goodman in 2006 and served a prison sentence.

Following a renewed police investigation he admitted three more counts of conspiring to hack phones plus a fourth count of hacking the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

Coulson's co-defendants Rebekah Brooks and managing editor Stuart Kuttner denied any wrongdoing and were cleared of all charges.

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Heathrow Sorry For T5 Baggage Fiasco

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky Reporter

Bosses at Heathrow have said they cannot confirm when passengers still waiting for bags, stranded after a computer glitch, will receive them.

The issues began at Terminal 5 last week and affected thousands of departing British Airways passengers.

Some had to fly without their luggage after the problems meant bags had to be manually processed, which takes a lot longer.

Speaking to Sky News on his first day as chief executive of Heathrow, John Holland-Kaye apologised to customers and said the issues had now been resolved.

However, he could not confirm when customers would receive their belongings, saying: "I can't give an exact time scale for that, we should have put all of the bags into the system here at Heathrow today that are remaining.

Pic: Navjot Gill

"It will then take a few days for British Airways to manage the process of getting them back into the hands of passengers.

"The best advice would be to contact British Airways to see how we can best do that.

"I would like apologise once again to any passengers who have been affected by this.

"We need to do better and as chief executive, starting today, it's my determination we should do".

Coleen Rooney was among those affected by the IT issues, which lasted from June 26 to 29.

The wife of England and Manchester United footballer Wayne took to Twitter to vent her frustration, writing: "Feel sick ... just received my 4 cases 2 days late from BA Heathrow to Las Vegas. Opened them all and they have been completely ransacked."

British Airways said it had been in touch with Mrs Rooney to apologise and confirmed it had launched an investigation.

In a statement regarding the delays, a spokesperson from the airline said: "We have been working round the clock to reunite customers with their bags since the airport's baggage system in Terminal 5 first started experiencing IT faults last Thursday morning."

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Data Roaming Charges Cut By More Than Half

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

The cost of accessing the internet on your phone abroad in EU countries falls by more than half today, with a new cap on data roaming charges.

The tariff, introduced by the European Commission, limits the price of one megabyte of data to 20 cents (16p) – a 55% decrease from this time last year.

Mobile providers must also offer travellers reduced text messages at 5p, incoming calls at 4p per minute and outgoing calls at 15p  per minute.

However, British travellers will still pay considerably more abroad than at home.

In the UK, data costs around £10 per gigabyte. Under the new cap, a gigabyte downloaded abroad would cost £42.

The price cut comes before a major telecoms reform, due to take effect from December 15 next year.

Under the reforms, data roaming will be scrapped altogether in the EU and accessing internet data on a smartphone will cost as much abroad in the EU as in the UK.

The changes have been agreed by the commission and now must be ratified by EU member states.

Neeli Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission, said: "This huge drop in data roaming prices will make a big difference to all of us this summer.

"But it is not enough. Why should we have roaming charges at all in a single market? By the end of this year I hope we see the complete end of roaming charges agreed."

Some operators have warned that scrapping roaming could cost the telecoms industry £5.6bn before 2020.

But other mobile operators including Three have pressed ahead, offering free roaming in many EU countries, well in advance of the new rules.

The new rates apply only to EU member states – countries like Switzerland and Turkey are not affected, nor are countries outside Europe.

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Labour Plans Whitehall Power Shift To Regions

More power and cash would be handed from Whitehall to local councils as part of a drive to create "regional economic powerhouses", under Labour plans.

The proposals, which the party said could see more than £30bn devolved to the grassroots, are aimed at rebalancing the economy and close the gap in wealth between different parts of the country.

In a speech, Ed Miliband has called for the creation of more "combined authorities", so-called city regions - like that which already exists in Greater Manchester and Leeds - to tackle long-standing problems with skills, infrastructure and economic development.

The Labour leader wants other areas to follow Manchester's example

The Labour leader said if his party is elected, the combined authorities would receive any extra income from business rates generated by growth to reinvest locally.

Although this would be "revenue neutral", offset by reductions in other grants, Labour says it would ensure any additional money would stay in the region.

The plan is one of a series of recommendations in a review into ways generating growth carried out for Mr Miliband by the former transport secretary, Lord Adonis.

The move echoes radical plans unveiled by former Tory cabinet minister Lord Heseltine, which called for a major shift in power and money to the regions.

Under the Labour plans, the £30bn which could be handed to local authorities, including combined authorities, and local enterprise partnerships over the course of a parliament, would include funding for housing, transport, business support, employment and skills.

Labour's proposals echo the plans put forward by Lord Heseltine

Mr Miliband said: "The next Labour government will ensure city and county regions, like this powerhouse economy in Leeds, get control of business rates revenue so that any extra money raised here...can be invested here.

"I know the next Labour government cannot solve every problem by pulling levers in Whitehall.

"We can only do it by working with, harnessing the energy, the ideas and the dynamism of great businesses, cities, county regions."

Lord Adonis said his aim was to promote "a smarter, not a more expensive, state".

He said: "Growth is unbalanced. The link between growth and living standards has been broken, exports are weak, young people widely lack the opportunities they deserve and inequality is vast, both between people and between regions.

"England's business leaders and local governments need empowering to invest in infrastructure, skills and economic development."

Responding to the proposals, Adam Marshall, policy director at the British Chambers of Commerce, welcomed the call for more power and funding to be devolved from Whitehall but said accountability to local business needed to be strengthened.

He said: "Decisions on local growth are best taken when businesses and councils decide what arrangements work best for their areas, and deliver these accordingly.

"In a world where more funding and tax revenues are devolved, however, businesses need the strongest possible say over both local economic plans and how money is spent."

But Conservative Business Minister Matthew Hancock said: "Labour are planning tax rises on businesses, tax rises on jobs, and yet more government borrowing - risking wrecking our economy all over again."

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Francis Bacon Triptych Sells For Landmark £26m

A Francis Bacon triptych of his lover George Dyer has sold at auction for a landmark £26.7m.

The 1967 work was the star of the show at a Sotheby's auction which netted a sales total of £93.1m.

The Bacon was one of around 40 such triptychs the artist painted in a format of 11 by 14 inches for each of the three frames.

Cheyenne Westphal, co-head of Sotheby's contemporary art department, said the work has an interesting history.

"The story between Francis Bacon and George Dyer is actually extraordinary, they actually met because George Dyer broke into Francis Bacon's mews house and they became friends, lovers and extremely close," she said.

Francis Bacon, seen in 1970, was born in Dublin

"Very sadly George Dyer committed suicide on the night of Bacon's biggest and most important exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris in 1971 and that was just for Francis one of the most horrific things."

The previous top price for a similar Bacon triptych was £23m, while the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction was the sale by rival Christie's of a large format Bacon triptych in New York last November for £83m ($142m).

"The Bacon was bought by collectors who truly wanted to own it. It was a completely private market that came from virtually every side of the world and people wanted to own this wonderful piece and they bought it," Ms Westphal said.

Auctioneer Oliver Barker explained the high level of interest in the piece: "Not only is this small scale triptych the greatest that has every come to the auction market but it's a great personality plus the fact that it has been in all the major Bacon retrospectives and stayed in the same collection from 1970 until it was brought to market now and it was entrusted to Sotheby's to sell it.

"And it was a great result - the greatest ever for a Bacon triptych."

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Murderer And Violent Prisoner On The Run

Police are hunting a murderer and another violent criminal after they absconded from an open prison in Buckinghamshire.

Darren Douglas, 46, and Ricardo Dunn, 32, left HM Spring Hill open prison in Grendon Underwood, Buckinghamshire, on Sunday.

Douglas, originally from Birmingham, is serving a life sentence for murder after stabbing a man to death outside a pub in 1998.

Dunn, from Burnley, was convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent after assaulting a man in the street in 2009.

He is serving an indeterminate sentence.

Chief inspector Olly Wright, of Thames Valley Police, said: "We are keen to speak to anyone who may have seen these men in the area and can provide us with information about their movements.

"These men were both convicted for violent offences and I would advise anyone who sees them, to not approach them and call police immediately.

"Both men have links with other areas so may have travelled out of the Thames Valley to those areas. I would like to remind people that it is a criminal offence to harbour these men and anyone caught doing so would be arrested."

"Skullcracker" Michael Wheatley absconded from HMP Standford Hill

The Justice Secretary Chris Grayling was tackled over the latest prisoner absconds in the Commons by his Labour counterpart Sadiq Khan.

He said: "The proportion of offenders who are sent to open prisons who subsequently abscond is 20% of what it was when the other party was in power a decade ago.

"I do not believe it is sensible for this country to scrap open prisons. I believe it is sensible to have tougher risk assessment procedures.

"I think it is sensible not to transfer people to open conditions who have previously absconded.

"Those are changes we have put in place in the last couple of weeks.

"They are helping rehabilitate offenders, They need to be there.

"Is he actually saying that should change?"

But Mr Khan hit back saying: "Nice soundbite. They are absconding after he's made his changes. So much for keeping the public safe."

The issue of prisoners walking out of open prisons has been in the spotlight since "Skullcracker" Michael Wheatley went on the run.

In May, the 55-year-old sparked a nationwide manhunt after he absconded from Category D jail HMP Standford Hill on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent.

The prolific armed robber - dubbed the "Skullcracker" for pistol-whipping innocent bystanders during raids - went on to rob a building society in Surrey.

He was already serving 13 life sentences for a string of raids when he disappeared, sparking a political row over the day release of dangerous criminals.

After being caught, he was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court to life behind bars and told he will serve at least 10 years before being eligible for parole.

It has also emerged that two prisoners, Scott Callaghan, 35, and Billy Harkins, 29, disappeared from the same prison on Saturday.

Callaghan is serving a sentence for perverting the course of justice and Harkins for aggravated burglary, Kent Police said.

Last month Sussex Police revealed that 89 prisoners had gone missing since the 1970s from Ford open prison and are still unaccounted for.

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Madeleine: Search Dogs Return To Portugal

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 8:10pm UK, Monday 30 June 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

:: June 11 - Police begin to search an area between Praia da Luz and the town of Lagos behind a water treatment plant. The search of the scrubland site was later wound down.

:: June 30 - The British team return to Portugal and plan to speak to a key witness and several suspects the following day.

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Pregnant Woman Sexually Assaulted On Bus

By Adele Robinson, Sky News Midlands Correspondent

CCTV images have been released to find a man in connection with a sexual assault on a pregnant woman on a Birmingham bus.

The man sat next to his 33-year-old victim and began rubbing her leg, police say.

As she got up to leave, he stood behind her and appeared to attack her again.

The woman got off the bus and was followed by the man before she approached security guards at New Street station for help.

The attack took place on the number 31 bus from Acocks Green to the city centre on May 20, between 9.30am and 10.25am. 

The man is described as Asian, 5ft 6ins tall, of slim build with black hair and a small goatee beard.

He was wearing a grey jumper with black tracksuit bottoms and is believed to be in his 20s.

Detective Constable Warren Moore, from Force CID, said: "This was an unprovoked assault against an unsuspecting, pregnant member of the public, who was visiting the area.

"The assault made her uncomfortable and unnerved and has had a lasting effect on her. She is unable to use buses through fear of this happening again."

Anyone with information is asked to contact local police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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