Farrow Jailed For Life Over Double Murder

By Isabel Webster, Bristol Crown Court

An "extremely dangerous" psychopath has been jailed for life for the murders of a vicar and a retired teacher.

Stephen Farrow was told he would die behind bars by a judge at Bristol Crown Court.

He killed the Reverend John Suddards at his vicarage in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, between February 12 and 15 this year.

The 48-year-old, of no fixed address, admitted showing no mercy as the vicar cried "I'm dying", to which he replied "F****** die then, hurry up".

Judge Mr Justice Field told Farrow: "I am satisfied that in your case a whole life sentence is an appropriate sentence in each of these dreadful, horrific killings. In my judgement, you acted sadistically.

"To put a knife deep into the body of Betty Yates as she lay helpless on the floor, having arranged her head on the pillow, was an act of absolute sadism.

"You did that because you wanted to. She wasn't threatening you. You put that knife in her to have the pleasure of doing it.

"As for Rev Suddards, you killed him - having kicked him down, having told him to 'f****** hurry up and die' - with seven deep knife wounds.

"He was helpless. That conduct was clearly sadistic. Accordingly, there is no question in your case of the imposition of a minimum term."

Farrow had pleaded guilty to the clergyman's manslaughter, but denied it was murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

He also denied the murder of grandmother Betty Yates at her home in Bewdley, Worcestershire, between January 1 and 5.

In between murders, Farrow burgled a house and left this note

A jury made up of four women and eight men spent almost two days considering the evidence before returning a guilty verdict for both murders.

The court heard that Rev Suddards, 59, was found in a pool of blood, carefully laid out in his hallway, with pornography, condoms and streamers on and around his body.

The jury were told these items were designed to "humiliate" the clergyman as Farrow had a grudge against the Church.

After the murder, Farrow spent the night at the vicarage, just metres from the body of his victim, watching DVDs and drinking beer.

It was not disputed by the drifter's defence team that he "passed the threshold of psychopathy".

His barrister, Peter Gower QC, argued that although Farrow was not mentally ill at the time of the killing, he was suffering an "abnormality of the mind" which diminished his responsibility for his actions.

But prosecutor Michael Fitton QC told the jury "we do not accept his mental disorder diminishes his responsibility for what he did to entitle him to that defence".

Mr Fitton also rejected Farrow's denial of Mrs Yates' murder, saying: "Our case is that he was there and that he killed her and that he intended to kill her."

Her body was found two days after she was attacked, at the bottom of her stairs, with her head on her pillow and a knife still in her neck.

The 77-year-old widow had been stabbed four times in the head and beaten with an ornate walking stick.

A swab taken from the back of her left hand represented a "one-in-a-billion match" as a mixture of DNA belonging to her and Farrow.

The defendant admitted a separate charge of burgling a cottage in Thornbury, between December 21 last year and January 3 this year.

A note was also found inside the house he burgled, pinned to the kitchen table with knives, that read: "Be thankful you did not come back or I would have killed you, you Christian scum. I f*****g hate God."

Farrow, wearing a blue sweatshirt and blue tracksuit bottoms, showed no emotion as the jury foreman returned the verdicts after eight-and-a-half hours' deliberation.

Hillary Bosworth, the sister of Rev Suddards, praised police involved in the investigation and said Farrow's sentence was "deserved".

"The deaths of John and Betty raise many questions," she said.

"What could have been done to avert these tragedies. Do we as a country do enough to ensure that psychopaths with a known history of violence and criminal offences are not left roaming around ... ready to attack someone?"

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U-Turn On Amsterdam Tourist Cannabis Ban

A new law that would have banned tourists from smoking cannabis in Amsterdam's notorious coffee shops has been scrapped.

The mayor of Amsterdam has rejected the legislation, which the incoming Dutch government has ruled will be up to local authorities to adopt it - or not.

Eberhard van der Laan said enforcing the law in the city would only force pot smokers onto the streets.

He told the De Volkskrant newspaper that the city's tourists will not accept restrictions on the availability of marijuana.

"They will swarm all over the city looking for drugs. This would lead to more robberies, quarrels about fake drugs and no control of the quality of drugs on the market," he said. "Everything we have worked toward would be lost to misery."

Under the new rules, due to be fully introduced by January, the government will issue "weed passes" to those who want to smoke marijuana and hash.

Amsterdam coffee shops are to remain open to tourists

This would mean only Netherlands residents could buy cannabis openly. Foreigners, who flood to Amsterdam each year to buy and smoke drugs, would be banned from such consumption.

Some 1.5 million visitors are estimated to go to the Dutch capital, which relies heavily on tourism, every year to take advantage of its libera approach to drugs.

The change in law has caused lengthy arguments between politicians, some of whom believe it will curb drug use in the country, and coffee shop owners, who fear it could seriously damage their business.

It was brought in by the previous conservative-led government but MPs in the new administration have decided to let individual cities make up their own minds.

There are currently around 750 coffee shops in the country, with around 220 of in Amsterdam, mostly in the city's famous red light district where prostitution is also legal.

While marijuana trafficking is illegal in the Netherlands, people cannot be prosecuted for possession of small amounts and the drug is sold openly in designated cafes.

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Royal Cop Accidentally Fires Gun In Car

A Royal protection officer guarding the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in North Wales is under investigation after he accidentally fired his gun while sitting inside a car.

Nobody was injured when the officer, who was sitting in the vehicle in Anglesey with another policeman, let off the shot while on duty in North Wales last week.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Shortly before 1pm on Wednesday October 24, an on-duty MPS police officer unintentionally discharged a firearm while in an unmarked police vehicle.

"The round damaged the floor of the vehicle. Another on-duty officer was in the vehicle at the time of the incident. Neither officer was injured.

"The officers were on duty in North Wales at the time."

The force stressed that the officers were some distance away from the property at the time the gun went off.

Police would not comment on the type of gun was fired, but Royal protection officers routinely use 9mm Glock 17 pistols.

Both the officers are attached to Specialist Operations.

The Met spokesman said its Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed of the incident and the officer concerned has been removed from firearms duty pending the outcome of inquiries.

Prince William, or Flight Lieutenant Wales as he is known in his capacity as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot, captains Sea King helicopters from his unit's base at RAF Valley in North Wales.

In June 2000, a Royal protection officer accidentally fired two shots on the Royal train while the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were on board.

No one was injured in the incident, which occurred in the early hours of the morning.

In November 2008, one of Tony Blair's bodyguards accidentally fired his gun as the former prime minister prepared to board a flight to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. Again, no one was hurt.

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Syrian Rebels 'Execute' Government Soldiers

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, in Jerusalem

Syrian rebels are suspected of murdering a group of captured government soldiers undermining a strategic victory which gave them control of the main highway between Aleppo and Damascus.

An unverified video of the killings, believed to have been in Saraqib, shows a group of about 20 armed men wearing rebel head bands standing over at least eight captured soldiers.

One of the soldiers pleads with the militia insisting that he did not shoot anyway.

A rebel can be overheard saying "gather them together for me".

Young men, many of them already wounded, are flung into a pile and then riddled with bullets.

Fighting in Aleppo

The executions are a reminder of a similar atrocity in Aleppo in August when a group of rebels murdered local people they accused of being members of Assad's Shabiha (ghosts) militia.

The capture of Saraqib is a significant strategic gain for the rebels. It controls the road to Damascus, and cuts the government forces main supply route to its Aleppo line.

It also severs the regime's links to Latakia, the main coastal city in the heartland of Assad's brethren in the Alawite community.

Rebel successes in the past have come from the valuable contribution of former regime soldiers who have changed sides, bringing their tactical skills with them.

Syrian refugees near the Turkish border

But recently deserters have been reluctant to contact revolutionary fighters for fear of summary execution. Last week a group of about 20 government soldiers gave themselves up in Turkey claiming asylum and saying they would not have surrendered to rebel forces for fear of retribution.

Amnesty International's Ann Harrison, the deputy Middle East and North Africa director, said that the footage appeared to show "a potential war crime in progress".

She said that the human rights group would continue to investigate the alleged atrocity.

The government is accused of widespread war crimes including the murder of civilians who have been found with their hands tied close to the government held air force headquarters in Aleppo.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

The rebel gains, which are reported to include a 25km radius around Saraqib, have come at a time when the exiled Syrian national Council and other groups are facing international criticism for their apparent failure to unite.

Two days ahead of key talks among the opposition in Qatar, the Syrian National Council lashed out at US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent statement that it was not fully representative of the country's diverse dissident forces.

"Any discussions aimed at passing over the Syrian National Council or at creating new bodies to replace it are an attempt to undermine the Syrian revolution by sowing the seeds of division," the SNC said in a statement.

Clinton said the SNC was not representative of on-the-ground opposition forces and that it "can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition".

It is likely that Washington will be pushing for an overhaul of the opposition at a meeting in Qatar this weekend. But US influence will depend on Qatari support.

Washington contributes a pittance, and only in the form of non-lethal aid, to rebels who receive hundreds of millions of pounds in support from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, much of it donated by individuals.

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Sandy: Survivors See Loved-Ones Die In Floods

Survivors have described their tragic attempts to save loved ones after the powerful Sandy storm devastated the US East Coast.

Glenda Moore was left screaming in the street after her two sons were torn from her arms by the storm surge on Staten Island.

Two-year-old Brandon and Connor, four, were swept away as the three tried to escape floodwaters.

The boys' bodies were found in a marsh on Thursday close to where Mrs Moore lost hold of them.

Mrs Moore had got into a Ford Explorer to travel to her sister's home in Brooklyn but it stalled in the rising waters.

They were caught in the floodwaters when they got out to try and get away.

Members of the National Guard rescue an elderly man in Hoboken, New Jersey

Neighbours reportedly ignored Mrs Moore's frantic screams for 12 hours until a police patrol car arrived on the scene.

It comes after a daughter was forced to watch her mother die when floodwaters left them trapped inside their home on Staten Island.

Diane Norris, 65, and her mother Ella, 89, tried to get out of their South Beach apartment as the powerful storm surge forced water levels up.

But they were unable to escape and were left holding each other in their living room as the water rose around them.

After screaming for help in the freezing water, Ella Norris was unable to hold on any longer and died in the early hours of Tuesday.

Her daughter told the New York Daily News: "She said, 'Diane I can't do this anymore' and she just went down in my arms. And I couldn't hold her."

In New York, Herminia St John died after her oxygen machine lost power and a backup failed.

The 75-year-old grandmother of 14 suffered from congestive heart failure and diabetes.

Her grandson, Claudio, tried to flag down an ambulance and then ran to Bellevue Hospital, but Ms St. John had already died when medics arrived.

Daughter Elsa St. John told the New York Daily News: "I hugged her and she hugged and kissed me.

"She asked me to turn her to the window and she was gone."

Meanwhile a 23-year-old makeup artist was electrocuted while photographing a downed power line in Richmond Hill, New York.

Lauren Abraham came into contact with live wires outside her home and was set on fire as horrified neighbours looked on.

There were also stories of heroism as firefighters, the coastguard and police battled the elements to save people.

Video footage showed the moment helicopter rescue teams plucked stranded people from the roofs of their homes on the East Coast.

Jon Candelaria, 25, ignored the risk to his own life to go to the aid of a taxi driver in New York.

The 6ft 5in accountant, a father-of-one, waded into the chest-high water to pluck the driver from his SUV.

When he got to the vehicle, the water was already up to the driver's chin.

He told DNAinfo: "When I got to the driver, the water was up to his chin. He looked like he was praying, preparing to die.

"He looked like he knew it was his time to go."

Off-duty NYPD officer Artur Kasprzak, 28, died on Monday night after successfully rescuing seven members of his own family, including his 15-month-old son.

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Polly Peck Tycoon Nadir Ordered To Pay £5m

Disgraced tycoon Asil Nadir has been ordered to pay £5m compensation to Polly Peck International administrators or face a further six years in prison.

In August, Nadir was jailed for 10 years for stealing £28.8m pounds from his business empire and its shareholders.

Polly Peck, which was one of the most successful companies of its time, collapsed owing £550m in 1990.

Nadir, whose firm included the Del Monte fruit label, then went on the run for 17 years before returning to Britain in 2010 confident he would be cleared.

He later claimed to be penniless after prosecutors demanded £60m should be paid in compensation and interest to the administrators.

Mr Justice Holroyde, sitting at the Old Bailey, rejected Nadir's claims of poverty and said he believed Nadir had money stashed away.

Nadir, 71, fled from the UK to his native Northern Cyprus in 1993.

He claimed to have lived on the generosity of his mother and a girlfriend while in exile and before he was discharged as a bankrupt.

The judge said: "It is not true that Mr Nadir received no significant income or owned no significant assets since 1993."

Nadir has been given two years to pay the compensation. 

The judge also ruled that Turkish airline boss Hamit Cankut Bagana could apply for the return of the £250,000 security he paid to allow Nadir bail.

Nadir is serving half the sentence handed down in August in prison and will then be released on licence.

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Rio Smedley: Man Gets Life For Murdering Toddler

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

A man has been jailed for life for murdering his girlfriend's two-year-old son, who bled to death after his liver was split in two.

Rio Smedley had 91 separate injuries when he died of internal injuries in April.

Manchester Crown Court heard that the fatal injury was a result of "extreme blunt force trauma" as part of a sustained physical assault.

Daniel Rigby, 23, put his head in his hands as the jury returned the guilty verdict. He had always denied ever hurting Rio.

Rio's mother, 24-year-old Kirsty Smedley, has been found guilty of causing or allowing the death of her son.

Rigby was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to serve a minimum term of 17 years before he would be considered for parole.

Mr Justice David MacKay told him: "The jury has convicted you of the murder of this little boy. You don't need me to tell you what a terrible crime that was."

The judge said Rigby had abused his position of trust.

He went on: "You abused that trust by punishing him physically in quite a revolting way.

"It's a chilling, terrible picture. He suffered considerably before he died, I am satisfied. He was a vulnerable boy. You abused your trust."

The judge said he did not think Rigby intended to kill Rio but had a "sudden loss of temper" and "set about him, inflicting the fatal blow".

Earlier the court was told that Rio's injuries were likely to have been caused by "heavy blows" from "punches, kicks, knees and stamping".

Rigby was alone with Rio on April 22 because the boy's mother had gone out to borrow money from relatives.

Rigby told the trial the toddler had fallen down the stairs at their home in Bolton.

But the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination said the injuries could not be explained by a fall.

A month earlier Kirsty Smedley had told police that Rigby had butted and punched her during an argument.

At the time she was heavily pregnant. He had been arrested but denied assault.

Smedley later withdrew the allegation and told the trial she did so because she was missing Rigby.

Smedley told the jury that she still loved Rigby, even though he had assaulted her.

She said she thought Rigby and Rio got on and that Rio was "happy" when Rigby came back into their lives after she dropped the assault charges against him.

She said Rigby was "patient and playful" with her son.

The day before he died Rigby took Rio on a day out. The toddler returned home with a bruise on his head and a large bruise on his bottom.

Rigby said the head injury was caused by a dog knocking Rio off a chair at his grandmother's house.

Smedley said she did not take much notice of the large bruise on Rio's bottom. She also denied Rigby's claim that she had caused the bruise.

But Smedley did admit to the jury that she told Rigby "not to tell anyone" because "they will think I hit him".

Asked repeatedly why she had left her son with a man who had been violent towards her Smedley told the court that Rigby and Rio were close.

The trial heard that instead of calling paramedics when Rio was dying Rigby had contacted his sister to try to arrange to meet up and smoke cannabis.

When Smedley returned to the house in Bolton she called paramedics but by the time they arrived her son was no longer breathing.

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Freddie Starr Questioned By Police Again

Freddie Starr has returned to a police station to answer further questions about alleged sexual offences.

The Metropolitan Police said a man in his 60s from Warwickshire, arrested on Thursday on suspicion of sexual offences in connection with the Jimmy Savile investigation, was being interviewed again today.

Starr, 69, strongly denies any wrongdoing. Last month he branded the Jim'll Fix It presenter "despicable" and "disgusting", and urged police to interview him so he could clear his name.

He appeared with Savile on an episode of BBC show Clunk Click in 1974 alongside Karin Ward, who has since accused him of molesting her.

Ms Ward, who was 14 at the time, was the main interviewee in the ITV documentary which exposed the Savile sex abuse scandal.

Starr denied touching her inappropriately and said he had not appeared on the show.

His lawyer later issued a statement claiming he had been mistaken and that he was in fact on the show.

Publicist Max Clifford, who represented Starr in the 1980s, told Sky News he had received calls from several celebrities who appeared on TV shows with Savile who were concerned they could be embroiled in the inquiry.

He said: "In the 1960s and 1970s just about every major pop star appeared on Top Of The Pops, many of them met Jimmy Savile even if it was just to say hello to.

Savile is believed to have been a prolific abuser

"Many times Jimmy would come up to different stars often with young girls saying 'will you have a picture taken'.

"Now they're asking 'am I suddenly going to be named because there's a picture of me with Jimmy Savile'.

"The problem is if you're a star, just by having your name mentioned in connection with Jimmy Savile or Gary Glitter, you could be damaged."

Starr's arrest followed that of Gary Glitter, who was questioned at a central London police station on Sunday after being detained at his home in the capital.

The former pop star was later released on bail.

Scotland Yard is leading a national investigation into Savile, who died last year at the age of 84.

He is now believed to have been one of the UK's most prolific abusers, with about 300 possible victims.

The BBC has launched an inquiry into the culture and practices at the corporation in the era of Savile's alleged sexual abuse.

It is also looking at the decision-making process which saw a Newsnight investigation into Savile's activities shelved.

The review, led by Nick Pollard, former head of Sky News, will report back on its findings later this month, it was announced earlier.

On Thursday NatWest Bank, which is acting as Savile's executor and trustee, revealed his £4.3m estate had been frozen in anticipation of legal action by his alleged victims.

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Missing Vet Catherine Gowing: More Remains Found

Search teams hunting for missing vet Catherine Gowing have sealed off a second area after finding more human remains.

The grim discovery comes two days after officers discovered human remains in a shallow pool within a field in Sealand, Deeside, North Wales.

Ms Gowing, 36, who is originally from Clonlee, Co Offaly, in the Irish Republic, was last seen on Friday, October 12.

She was pictured on CCTV at a supermarket near her home in New Brighton, Flintshire, North Wales. She was reported missing on October 15.

A 46-year old man, from Gynnedd, North Wales, has since been charged with her murder.

Catherine Gowing was last seen on CCTV footage at a supermarket

A North Wales Police spokesman said an off-duty Cheshire Police made the latest discovery in FerryLane, Higher Ferry at 2.15pm.

He added: "The human remains have been recovered and the immediate scene secured pending a forensic examination and further detailed search.

"The human remains will be subject of a post-mortem and forensic examination to determine formal identification."

Tests are continuing on the remains which were found in Sealand on Wednesday, he added.

Ms Gowing was reported missing when she failed to arrive for work at the Evans Veterinary Practice in Mold, Flintshire, on Monday October 15.

Later that week police recovered her car which had been torched and abandoned in a disused quarry.

Police said they have devoted extensive resources to the search operation.

Clive Sharp, 46, of no fixed address, has been charged with murder and was remanded in custody until January 7 when he is due to enter his plea.

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MPs' Expenses: Denis MacShane Quitting As MP

A former Labour minister has announced he is resigning as an MP after being suspended from the Commons for making false expenses claims.

It follows a damning report from the Commons expenses watchdog, which found Denis MacShane wrongly claimed thousands of pounds.

The report said he submitted 19 false invoices "plainly intended to deceive" Parliament's expenses authority - which said the case was the "gravest" it had dealt with.

The move came after the Labour Party declared the Rotherham MP's career to be "effectively over", and with Scotland Yard facing demands to reopen a criminal investigation.

Speaking of Mr MacShane's resignation, a senior Labour source said: "Denis has done the right thing."

A statement issued by former minister said: "I have been overwhelmed by messages of support for my work as an MP on a range of issues but I accept that my parliamentary career is over.

"I appreciate the committee's ruling that I made no personal gain and I regret my foolishness in the manner I chose to be reimbursed for work including working as the Prime Minister's personal envoy in Europe.

"I want to thank the people of Rotherham for allowing me to serve as their MP and the Labour Party for allowing me over the years to fight for the causes I believe in."

The committee's sanctions follow an investigation by Parliamentary Standards Commissioner John Lyon, who accused Mr MacShane of "extremely serious" rule-breaking.

It also emerged in today's report that the commissioner's findings had not been shared with the Metropolitan Police, which dropped its own lengthy inquiry into Mr MacShane without further action in July.

Conservative MP Philip Davies urged police to revisit the allegations against Mr MacShane armed with the detailed evidence in the commissioner's "astonishing" report.

In a letter to the Met, he wrote: "Now that the report has been published, and parliamentary privilege no longer applies, I would ask you to consider reopening the investigation into Mr MacShane."

Committee officials suggested that the evidence from Mr MacShane would not be legally admissible - even though it has not now been made public.

The committee said it was impossible to say how much Mr MacShane claimed "outside the rules" but estimated it "may have been in the order of £7,500".

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Savile 'Took Girls To Leeds Hospital Block Alone'

Jimmy Savile regularly took teenage girls to a private hospital block alone for a few hours at a time, a former porter has told Sky News.

Terry Pratt said the Jim'll Fix It presenter was given a key to the nurses' accommodation building at Leeds General Infirmary during the 1990s.

Unlike doctors at the hospital, who had to be let in by a porter, he was allowed to take the keys himself.

The ex-worker claimed that Savile, who was a volunteer and fundraiser for the hospital, would arrive with the girls in the early hours of the morning and then leave before dawn.

Mr Pratt, who was a porter at the Leeds hospital from 1989 to 2010, said Savile came in with girls, who were often "dressed up to the nines", on three occasions in one week.

It is understood Savile had his own office in the hospital's Welcome Wing for 10 years from about the mid-1990s.

Given to him because of his fundraising activities, he even had his name on the door. The wing closed down a few years ago.

Savile was regularly given a key to the hospital's nurses' block

The hospital issued a statement responding to the latest claims of abuse by the late television star and DJ.

A spokesperson for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We continue to be shocked by each new allegation. It is important that they are investigated properly.

"The Trust is in contact with senior detectives from the Metropolitan Police and we have indicated our intention to help with their enquiries. If there are any issues which need to be addressed following the police investigation then we will take action."

Leeds General Infirmary is one of three hospitals, alongside Broadmoor and Stoke Mandeville, where Savile has been accused of abusing children.

Scotland Yard is currently investigating the Top of the Pops presenter's activities, and he is now believed to have been of the UK's most prolific child sex abusers, with about 300 possible victims.

Detectives are following 400 lines of inquiry as part of the investigation while the BBC has launched an inquiry into the culture and practices at the corporation during the Savile era.

Girls were said to be dazzled by Savile's celebrity status

It is also looking at the decision-making process that saw a Newsnight investigation into his activities shelved.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said "heads will need to roll" at the BBC if it is discovered that abuse was ignored.

"Serious questions need to be asked and if after we find out what's happened, it's clear that people have turned a blind eye or, worse still, connived with it, then of course they're going to have to be held to account and - if that turns out to be the case - heads will need to roll of course," he told ITV's The Agenda.

Earlier this week it emerged Savile was barred from any involvement with the BBC's Children In Need charity.

Sir Roger Jones, a former chairman of the charity, said he had been uncomfortable about allowing Savile to have any association with their work.

Although he had "no evidence" that Savile was up to anything, he said he behaved strangely, adding: "I think we all recognised he was a pretty creepy sort of character."

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Moss Reveals Her Topless Teenage Anguish

Supermodel Kate Moss has used a rare interview to reveal how distressed she was when she was forced to pose topless at the age of 16.

Moss told Vanity Fair magazine that later, while she was still in her teens, she suffered a nervous breakdown during a Calvin Klein campaign.

Now 38, she spoke about the pressures she was under and how for many years she had no-one "to take care of" her, apart from the time she spent dating Hollywood star Johnny Depp.

Moss told Vanity Fair how uncomfortable she felt while working on a shoot for style magazine The Face with photographer Corinne Day, which helped to propel her to fame.

"I see a 16-year-old now, and to ask her to take her clothes off would feel really weird," she said.

"But they were like 'If you don't do it, then we're not going to book you again'. So I'd lock myself in the toilet and cry and then come out and do it. I never felt very comfortable about it."

Moss said she was not happy with her "boobs" and insisted that the only man on the photoshoot turn his back while the pictures were being taken.

Moss is now happily married to musician Jamie Hince

The supermodel claimed her mental health suffered while working on a Calvin Klein campaign in the early 1990s.

"I had a nervous breakdown when I was 17 or 18, when I had to go and work with Marky Mark and Herb Ritts," she said.

"It didn't feel like me at all. I felt really bad about straddling this buff guy. I didn't like it. I couldn't get out of bed for two weeks. I thought I was going to die."

She went on: "It was just anxiety. Nobody takes care of you mentally. There's a massive pressure to do what you have to do."

Moss said Depp came to her aid during their four-year relationship, but following their split she said there was "years and years of crying".

She told interviewer James Fox: "I really lost that gauge of somebody I could trust."

Moss married musician Jamie Hince in 2011 and has an 11-year-old daughter, Lila Grace, from a previous relationship.

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Sandy: Dramatic Footage Of Air Rescue

Dramatic footage has been released of people being plucked from their flood-hit homes by helicopter.

Video shows New York Police Department rescue teams loading people onto a helicopter winch to safety, as flood waters rose.

But many people were not as fortunate, and details are emerging of the circumstances surrounding some of those who were killed.

An off-duty police officer drowned in his basement while rescuing his family from superstorm Sandy, police have confirmed.

The unnamed man is reported to have helped his father, girlfriend and baby into the attic of their home on the southern end of Staten Island, New York.

Falling trees have proved particularly deadly

He then went downstairs and never returned. Fellow officers found him in the basement at about 5am on Tuesday.

"Somehow he got trapped in his basement and he drowned in the basement," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

At least 55 people died across the US and Canada, and many are still missing, including two boys aged two and four.

New York was the worst-hit city in the US. In Queens, a 23-year-old woman was electrocuted after stepping on a live wire while taking photographs of a power line that had caught fire.

"She couldn't move. She didn't have a chance," said neighbour Renny Bhagretta, 44.

In Brooklyn, a teacher and student were crushed in the street by giant trees that came crashing down during the height of the storm.

Their bodies were discovered the next morning.

A 75-year-old Manhattan woman was reported to have died after her oxygen machine lost power.

Her grandson ran to nearby Bellevue Hospital for a manually operated tank, but the woman had already gone into cardiac arrest by the time paramedics arrived.

A 13-year-old girl was found dead under a pile of debris in the Tottenville area of Staten Island where four beach front homes were washed away.

Her mother, a church worker, was critically injured and her father, a plumber, was missing, neighbours said.

"They wanted to stay. We tried to convince them to leave. They said they didn't think it would be that bad," said neighbour John Alleva, 47.

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Sistine Chapel Marks 500th Year Of Masterpiece

Michelangelo's artistic masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was opened to the public 500 years ago this week.

The painting of the world-famous fresco - one of the Vatican's most dramatic offerings - took five years.

It was commissioned by Pope Julius II and Michelangelo was initially reluctant to take the project on.

When he did agree he put his heart and soul into it, depicting more than 300 figures rather than just the 12 apostles originally sought.

The artist's work covers 12,000 square feet of the chapel ceiling and is believed by many to be his best work.

The ceiling mural was considered a marvel from the moment it went on show on All Saints Day (November 1), 1512.

It now attracts up to 25,000 visitors a day - more than five million people a year.

But the amount of pollution they bring with them is now a major worry for the Vatican.

Museum experts there are now considering crowd control and a filter system to cut down the dust and pollutants which, long term, could damage the artwork.

One suggestion is to limit visitors to 25 every 15 minutes - a move that Vatican Museums director Antonio Paolucci accepts is likely to meet fierce criticism.

This is because the chapel is seen as a place for religious worshippers as well as art lovers, something the Roman Catholic Church is keen to retain.

"So far we've tried to avoid this because the Sistine Chapel for those who visit the Vatican is not only a place of art but also a spiritual, religious place," Mr Paolucci told the BBC.

His comments come a few weeks after he denied visitors would be limited, suggesting to do so would be as "unthinkable" as limiting access to the shrine of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes.

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Ivan Leach: 100 Reported Sightings Of Fugitive

Some 100 sightings of a fugitive prisoner - suspected of committing a serious sex attack while on the run - have been reported.

Scores of possible sightings of Ivan Leach have been received by police since he went missing from North Sea Camp open prison in Boston, Lincolnshire, having failed to return from day release on October 9.

Leach, also known as Lee Cyrus, 47, is suspected to have committed a serious sex attack in Tayside after this and police have described him as "extremely dangerous and predatory."

The last known sighting of him was in his home town of Preston on October 19. Grampian Police ruled out the latest potential sighting of Leach in Aberdeenshire on Tuesday night.

Police have urged the public not to approach him under any circumstance.

Leach was jailed in 2005 for robbing a 90-year-old woman in her home in Ribbleton, Preston. He was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of five years. Leach also has convictions for burglary, robbery and assault.

Leach is white, around 5ft 11in and stocky. He has a shaved head and hazel eyes. Police also said he has a scar on his top lip and was last seen wearing a black waterproof jacket, dark trousers and carrying a full rucksack.

Crimestoppers are offering up to £3,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Leach.

Grampian Police are also investigating the rape of a young woman in Aberdeen on Saturday morning. Officers said they are keeping an open mind about the identity of the rapist and are not focusing on a specific individual.

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Sandy Uncovers Bomb At Guantanamo Bay

The US military has had to close down a ferry landing at Guantanamo Bay after Hurricane Sandy uncovered an old bomb.

The 500lb (227kg) object was discovered several days after the hurricane - later downgraded to a superstorm - hit the Cuban island.

Officals at the US naval base evacuated the area around the bomb and flew in a disposal crew.

It was later discovered that the device was "inert" and not a threat.

The island was once used as the US Navy's Atlantic fleet training centre.

Sandy was classed as a hurricane when it hit the Cuban island

Workers are still cleaning up the damage from last week's hurricane, which blew the roof off the base.

It is unclear if the state-of-the-art courtroom that beams proceedings to special viewing sites on US soil was damaged.

The site holds 167 detainees who the US believes are linked to conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The death toll in the Caribbean stands at 69, with thousands of people left homeless.

Sandy took the lives of 52 people in Haiti, 11 in Cuba, two in the Bahamas, two in the Dominican Republic, one in Jamaica and one in Puerto Rico.

Haiti is still recovering from the 2010 earthquake that killed 316,000 people.

The UN said the latest disaster has pushed back the country's progress.

"Haiti is trying to get its house in order, but each time disaster strikes, the progress is interrupted," said Johan Peleman from the UN.

"This country is exposed to devastating consequences by each storm. With every burst of rain, entire mountains are washed away."

The regions most affected were the south and west, where many communities remain cut off due to the destruction of roads and bridges, authorities said.

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Steve Jobs' Super Yacht Takes To The Water

A super yacht designed by Apple founder Steve Jobs has taken to the water a year after his death.

The Venus, named after the Roman Goddess of Love, could well be one of the last Jobs designs the world will see.

The 256ft (78m) vessel was a collaboration between Jobs and the French designer Philippe Starck and was apparently dreamed up after a day-long discussion between the two.

The Venus was designed to have 40ft (12m) long walls of glass

It is, perhaps unsurprisingly, powered by a bank of seven 27-inch screen iMacs that sit on the bridge.

The yacht, which was built by shipbuilders Feadship, took to the water at the firm's yard in Aalsmeer, just south of Amsterdam.

Jobs' wife Laurene and his children Reed, Erin and Eve were there for the event and gave those involved in the project thank you notes and iPod Shuffles with the yacht's name on the back.

Philippe Starck was asked to work on the project in 2007

According to Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson, the vessel, which is made of exceptionally long aluminium panels, was just as Jobs had envisioned it.

In his biography, Mr Isaacson wrote: "The planned yacht was sleek and minimalist. The teak decks were perfectly flat and unblemished by any accoutrements.

"Like an Apple store, the cabin windows were large panes, almost floor to ceiling, and the main living area was designed to have walls of glass that were 40 feet long and 10 feet high."

The yacht at Aalsmeer, south of Amsterdam

According to Mr Isaacson, Jobs had said: "I know that it's possible I will die and leave Laurene with a half-built boat. But I have to keep going on it. If I don't, it's an admission that I'm about to die."

Jobs died on October 5 last year, aged 56, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

The vessel also features a "revolutionary" design of large glass windows at a 90-degree angle, rather than sloped, which is usual to help deal with the winds.

A man working by the aluminium vessel

Jobs even enlisted the help of the chief engineer of the Apple stores to design a special glass that would provide structural support.

The Venus is just under half the length of the world's largest yacht, the 538ft (164m) Eclipse owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Starck was asked to help design the Venus in 2007. A statement from his design house said: "The project never changed during the process of five years dedicated to a rigorous work on details, driven by the famous eye and genius of Steve Jobs."

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Minerals Find Gives New Clues To Life On Mars

Nasa has discovered the mineralogy of Martian soil is similar to balsatic, weathered soils of volcanic origin in Hawaii.

The minerals were found in the first sample of soil collected recently by Mars rover Curiosity using its Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument (CheMin), said Nasa on its website.

The identification of minerals in rocks and soil is crucial for the mission's goal to assess past environmental conditions. Each mineral records the conditions under which it formed.

Until now scientists had an incomplete understanding of the mineralogical make-up of the dust and fine soil widespread on Mars.

Wind-blown martian sand deposit dubbed "Rocknest" (Pic: NASA)

David Blake of Nasa Ames Research Centre said: "Our quantitative results provide refined and in some cases new identifications of the minerals in this first X-ray diffraction analysis on Mars."

David Bish, CheMin co-investigator with Indiana University in Bloomington, said: "We now know it is mineralogically similar to basaltic material with significant amounts of feldspar, pyroxene and olivine, which was not unexpected.

"Roughly half the soil is non-crystalline material, such as volcanic glass or products from weathering of the glass."

Bite mark where rover scooped up Martian soil (Pic: NASA)

CheMin used X-ray diffraction, standard practise for geologists on Earth, which reads minerals' internal structure by recording how their crystals interact with X-rays.

This method provided a more accurate detection of minerals than any previously used on Mars.

The specific sample was scooped up at a patch of dust and sand that the team named Rocknest. The sample was processed through a sieve to exclude particles larger than 150 micrometres - roughly the width of a human hair.

Soil sample on CheMin instrument (Pic: NASA)

The sample had at least two components: dust distributed globally in dust storms and fine sand originating more locally.

Unlike rocks Curiosity investigated a few weeks ago, which are several billion years old and indicative of flowing water, the soil material CheMin has analysed points to modern processes on Mars.

These Nasa technological advances have led to other applications on Earth including compact and portable X-ray diffraction equipment for oil and gas exploration, analysis of archaeological objects and screening of counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

During a two-year period researchers will use Curiosity's 10 instruments to probe whether areas in Gale Crater ever offered environmental conditions favourable for microbial life.

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Sandy: President Obama Arrives In New Jersey

President Barack Obama has arrived in New Jersey to assess the damage done by superstorm Sandy.

The region took the brunt of its impact and is among the worst affected areas on the East Coast of the United States, along with New York.

At least 55 people have been killed across the US and Canada.

Mr Obama, who described the disaster as "heartbreaking for the nation", is visiting victims of the storm in New Jersey with state governor Chris Christie.

The superstorm wreaked havoc across the east coast of America

The President is fighting a close race with Republican rival Mitt Romney and the White House has been keen to portray him as a strong leader ahead of election day on November 6.

Mr Christie has been one of Mr Romney's most prominent supporters, but has been effusive in his praise of Mr Obama's response to the storm.

Mr Romney is currently campaigning in Florida, where he said people had "come together" to help each other following the storm.

Earlier, the President visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) for the second time in four days. On Sunday, he met with officials and told reporters the government would "respond big and respond fast" after the massive storm made landfall.

Floodwaters surround a car parked on a street in Hoboken, New Jersey

More than eight million homes have been left without electricity by the biggest storm to hit the country in generations, which swamped parts of New York's subways system and Lower Manhattan's financial district.

It is feared it could be days before electricity is restored to some of those cut off.

Forecasters predict the storm could end up causing around $20bn (£12bn) worth of damages in the US.

While the storm has now passed the worst-hit area, Sky News weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said the bad weather will continue.

The Empire State Building seen through the flooded Erie-Lackawanna Park

"The storm is still reacting with cold air from the west, so there will be further heavy snowfall as well as inland flooding," she said.

"Rainfall totals could reach around 6-8 inches, and winds will remain gale force in strength.

"The forecast suggests that the centre of the low will move northwards from western Pennsylvania into the west of New York and then into Quebec by Thursday."

More than 80 homes in New York City's borough of Queens were destroyed in a fire caused by the storm.

Falling trees proved to be particularly deadly during the storms

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who toured the area, said: "To describe it as looking like pictures we've seen of the end of World War Two is not overstating it. The area was completely levelled."

Neighbour John Frawley, 57, said: "I stayed up all night. The screams. The fire. It was horrifying."

Subways were flooded, public transport suspended, and flights disrupted.

However as the rain and wind eased, JFK and Newark airports were reopened. Laguardia airport remains closed.

Areas along the shoreline were badly damaged

In New Jersey, businesses and homes along the shore were wrecked and communities were submerged under floodwater.

But talk in the state quickly turned to rebuilding and recovery.

"It's heartbreaking after being here 37 years," Barry Prezioso of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, said as he returned to his house in the coastal community to survey the damage.

"You see your home demolished like this, it's tough. But nobody got hurt and the upstairs is still livable, so we can still live upstairs and clean this out. I'm sure there's people that had worse. I feel kind of lucky."

Some newspapers had suggested that Tuesday's election could be delayed, but Sky News' Political Editor Adam Boulton said that was unlikely.

"No-one is talking about that. In Manhattan they haven't even called off the marathon this weekend."

More follows...

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Ibuprofen Allergic Reaction 'Nearly Kills' Boy

By Emma Birchley, East of England Correspondent

An 11-year-old boy was left covered in blisters and fighting for his life after suffering a rare allergic reaction to Ibuprofen.

Calvin Lock was given Nurofen for Children by his mother for a sore throat on the doctor's advice. But a few days later clusters of spots started appearing all over his body.

The burns led to him losing 65% of his skin and the youngster had to be put on a life support machine.

"He had blisters everywhere; all over his face, inside his mouth," said his mother Robyn Moult.

"He kept saying he couldn't swallow. When he opened his mouth and I looked inside I was absolutely horrified."

At first his GP, then A&E staff, had thought the spots were chickenpox and he was sent home from hospital. But in the early hours of September 28 Ms Moult was so worried she decided to take him back.

Calvin sat with his mother Robyn Moult

Eventually he was diagnosed with an extreme form of Stevens Johnson Syndrome - a life-threatening skin condition thought to have been triggered by the Ibuprofen.

Ms Moult said: "He asked me if he was dying and I said no and he kept saying I will see you on the other side.

"I said I will see you soon, you sleep well and I honestly thought I wouldn't see or hear him ever again. Not ever again."

The illness is notoriously hard to diagnose.

Dr Carol Cooper, a GP, told Sky News: "The initial symptoms are really quite vague.

"A reaction like this is unpredictable, it's also extremely rare and a very individual thing. It's right to remember that nothing comes free of any downside but I don't think you can blame anyone for what's happened."

In a statement, the makers of Nurofen for Children said it is saddened to hear about the case and are contacting with the family to establish the full details.

Dr Amoesh Bhatt, the firm's UK medical director, said: "Allergic skin reactions due to Ibuprofen and other painkillers for children are extremely rare.

"Children's Ibuprofen is a clinically proven treatment with a well-established safety record."

A month on, and the marks from the blisters are clear to see on every bit of Calvin's body. Five times a day cream has to be rubbed into his skin.

He said the loss of over half his skin is "a really big change that's going to be hard for me", adding: "Normally I can just go out in the summer just run about but now I have got to stay in the shade with lots of sunblock."

Calvin has been helped through the ordeal by a family in the United States whose 10-year-old is going through the same experience.

Now Ms Moult intends to fight to improve support and advice for others facing the same rare diagnosis.

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