How Much Will Airstrikes On IS Cost Taxpayer?

Calculating the anticipated cost of Britain's contribution to the anti-IS coalition is imprecise at best.

According to a Ministry of Defence report to Parliament in 2010, each Tornado flight costs £35,000 per hour.

Typically, two Tornados fly each mission, lasting anywhere between four and eight hours.

So let's land somewhere in the middle: a six-hour mission costs a basic £210,000.

Then we have to consider the cost of the missiles.

The expected payload would be four Paveway bombs, £22,000 each, and two Brimstone missiles, £105,000 per unit.

So let's say that's £508,000 per aircraft in total, just a smidgen over £1m per mission.

If they carry Storm Shadows at £800,000 a pop, then the cost rises considerably.

Tomahawk missiles, like this one being fired from a US ship, are not cheap

But then of course we should bear in mind that each aircraft might not drop its full load, so the figures distort further still.

And the Tornados need to refuel en route. Although operating costs for the Voyager aircraft aren't available, it is considerably more efficient than its VC-10 Tristar predecessor.

The TLAMs, Tomahawk Cruise Missiles, carried on the Astute class submarines, are the most expensive item - £950,000 a pop. It's unlikely many, if any, of these will be fired.

As I said, although the individual figures are accurate, the calculations are almost impossible to make, so dependent are they on mission-specific variants.

Please treat my sums with the dose of cynicism they deserve, they are merely a crude, early examination of what Britain's involvement in Iraq might cost the taxpayer.

A Paveway bomb which would feature in airstrikes on IS militants

The true cost will be made available at a much later date by the MoD and National Audit Office.

One other thing I'd like to mention: it is very possible that the very RAF GR4 Tornado fast jets that take off on the first bombing missions over Iraq won't be in service by the time the mission is complete, whenever that might be.

Only three Tornado squadrons remain, next year another will disband leaving just two. They are the British military's only true ground attack aircraft, to be replaced, sometime in the next decade, by the new F35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The F-35 is a fantastic aircraft, but it is overdue, over budget and faith in it being delivered by 2020 is diminishing.

Perhaps this mission will reward the Tornado squadrons with a small extension to the life in service - and what a busy, prestigious life it has been for that aircraft.

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Race To Free Caver Stuck For A Week After Fall

Rescuers are working to free an injured explorer who has been trapped for a week in an Amazonian cave about 400 metres (1,300 ft) underground.

Spaniard Cecilio Lopez was hurt when he fell five metres (16ft) inside the Inti Machay cave in a remote ravine in Peru's Leimebamba district, hundreds of miles northeast of the capital, Lima.

Getting to him is proving to be difficult because of the remoteness of the ravine and the structure of the cave, which does not have a vertical opening.

The cave is in a remote ravine in the Amazon

But emergency teams have managed to get food and water to Mr Lopez, who is a well-known cave explorer.

Rescue coordinator James Apaestegui said a doctor had reached him and found he had two damaged lumbar vertebrae which limits his movement.

The cave does not have a vertical way in

"Cecilio Lopez is lying face up. He can move laterally but he cannot stand up," said Mr Apaestegui, who is a researcher at the Geophysical Institute of Peru and President of the Andino Caving Club.

"He's accompanied (by someone at all times), and is waiting for the stretcher to arrive to begin the evacuation," Apaestegui said, adding that Lopez was in good spirits.

Foreign and Peruvian cavers are trying to rescue Lopez, including a large contingent from Spain.

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Stand Up Be Counted: Should Britain Attack IS?

Young people are less likely than their parents or grandparents to support British airstrikes against Islamic State, according to a new poll.

The majority of 18 to 24-year-olds (47%) support attacks on key targets but the level of backing is far greater among the over-60s (59%), research by YouGov found.

Only around four in 10 young people say they would approve of airstrikes in Syria and there is even less support for sending ground troops into Iraq to fight IS (26%).

With Britain likely to join the US, France and five Arab states in launching aerial attacks, possibly by the weekend, the issue of military intervention has become a talking point among Sky News' Stand Up Be Counted community.

Luke Herbert filmed a video to suggest starting a bombing campaign would be the "worst thing" the UK could do.

"Bombs don't discriminate like we do," he said in a message which also tackled the "sickening" level of racial hatred in comments on news stories about IS.

"We can see one person as bad and another as okay but a bomb sees two people as the same and blows them both up.

"That's where we have a problem. People are dying who aren't necessarily involved... and if an innocent person gets hit, how are we any better than them?

"We're continuing to kill ... and they'll perceive us as killing indiscriminately."

In his blog post, Angus_11497 said tensions in the Middle East appeared "frightfully similar" to those in the run-up to World War Two.

"Instead of the anti-Semitism that was the view of the Nazi Party, IS is now denouncing every religion, apart from Islam, and slaughtering innocent civilians," he said.

"Over the past few months, IS has grown in notoriety through propaganda and media coverage of atrocities which has led to many ... being 'brainwashed' into joining their cause.

"As a history student learning these startling facts and how they compare to the past, it worries me the world of politics is slowly marching towards another world war."

Meanwhile, Bauke Schram, a journalism student at Kingston University, recorded a short video exploring the impact of IS on women in Iraq and Syria.

"Women are not allowed to work, with the exception of women working for al Khansa - an armed, all-female brigade set up to expose lawbreakers," she said.

"However, even they only get the equivalent of about £100 a month."

The thoughts of Sky's Stand Ups on IS will help shape a televised debate, as Parliament is recalled to vote on military intervention in Iraq.

Anyone aged 16 to 25 can join the discussion by uploading a short video or blog post to the Stand Up Be Counted site, where young people are also sharing their views on a variety of other subjects.

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Kim Jong-Un: 'Missing' Leader May Have Gout

Kim Jong-Un has not been seen in public for three weeks and now a North Korea expert has offered a possible explanation: the leader has gout.

Since being filmed in July with a distinctive limp, speculation has been rife that the 31-year-old is in ill health.

Even North Korea's state media, which has tried to avoid the issue since Mr Kim's last public appearance on 3 September, has conceded that the leader has been suffering from "discomfort".

A voiceover for a pre-recorded documentary, aired on Thursday, said: "The wealth and prosperity of our socialism is thanks to the painstaking efforts of our marshal, who keeps lighting the path for the people, like the flicker of a flame, despite suffering discomfort."

According to Michael Madden, an expert on leadership in the secretive state, Mr Kim's extreme weight gain and family history reveals a lot about his condition.

"Based on his gait, it appears he has gout - something due to diet and genetic predisposition that has affected other members of the Kim family," he added.

Kim Jong-Un's father, Kim Jong-Il, died in 2011 after a heart attack.

Much of the speculation over Mr Kim's health had come from the South Korean government, who had monitored his recent absence from public life "with interest".

On Thursday, Mr Kim failed to attend a rare meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang, his first absence since coming to power.

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Dreamliner Makes Emergency Landing In Glasgow

A Dreamliner operated by Polish airline LOT has made an emergency landing in Glasgow after an alert from the fire protection system in the baggage hold.

The Boeing 787 was flying from Chicago to Warsaw with 248 people on board when the captain requested the emergency landing.

LOT spokeswoman Barbara Pijanowsk-Kuras said the emergency landing was required according to safety procedures after the crew received a warning from the firefighting system.

News reports said the pilot had reported a smell of smoke in the cabin.

The plane, which landed safely at 11.35am, was met by airport emergency services and checked by firefighters. It was deemed safe before it taxied to a stand.

The passengers have since disembarked, while the aircraft is "under technical review", a statement by the airline said. 

The airport remains open, and LOT said it was considering using another aircraft to bring the passengers to Warsaw.

The plane was carrying 248 people. Pic: @AndrewWork

The 787 has been plagued by problems.

Last year, the model was grounded around the world for three months while the battery systems were checked after a few of the aircraft developed problems that led to the appearance of smoke.

The battery appeared to overheat, reaching temperatures capable of melting rock.

Boeing redesigned the battery, charger and containment system to ensure battery fires would not put the aircraft at risk. Since then, the aircraft have experienced a series of minor glitches, including a fault with an air pressure sensor and the brake system.

Boeing insists the Dreamliner is operating safely.

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DLT Sentenced For Groping TV Personality

Disgraced DJ Dave Lee Travis has left court after being given a three-month suspended sentence for indecently assaulting a TV personality.

Speaking to reporters outside, the former Radio 1 star said he was "mortified" and "really disappointed" over his conviction this week and criticised his prosecution.

He said the judge accepted that prosecutors had failed to prove their case that he was a "sexual predator".

Travis said: "I was worried if the prosecution threw enough mud at me, some of it might stick", adding it was "of little comfort that I was acquitted of so many others (alleged offences)".

He said of those people closest to him: "We all know the truth and I'm grateful for that."

Travis, who became a household name in the 1970s, was found guilty on Tuesday of indecently assaulting a woman in 1995.

He was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years.

Travis pictured with his wife Marianne

The incident took place behind the scenes at The Mrs Merton Show, a programme which the victim had been working on as a researcher.

The DJ had squeezed her breasts for 10-15 seconds after cornering her in a corridor of a BBC studio.

The victim had been smoking in the corridor when he commented on her "poor little lungs" before groping her.

Sentencing the 69-year-old man at London's Southwark Crown Court, Judge Leonard said: "It was an intentional and unpleasant sexual assault.

"You took advantage of a young woman in a vulnerable position whose job it was to look after you that day."

In the dock, Travis briefly looked down and then said: "Thank you, your honour".

Marianne, his wife of more than 40 years, hugged a friend in the public gallery after the judge delivered his sentence.

In a statement read out ahead of his sentencing, the victim said: "I was subjected to an unprovoked and terrifying physical assault at my place of work.

The DJ became a household name in the 1970s

"I was too paralysed with fear to confront my assailant."

Before sentencing, journalist Camilla Long said Travis had "bashed" on the dock glass and "screamed" at her to move from the seats behind him in the public gallery to the press seats, as she was making him "uncomfortable".

Ms Long, who in 2012 wrote an article in which she claimed Travis had groped her during an interview, told Sky News the incident in court on Friday was "incredibly intimidating".

This week, Travis was found not guilty on a second indecent assault charge and the jury was discharged after it was unable to agree a verdict on a count of sexual assault.

He faced a retrial after jurors failed to reach verdicts on those two charges earlier this year.

He was cleared of 12 counts of indecent assault at his original trial in February.

The broadcaster, of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was first arrested in October 2012 under Operation Yewtree, Scotland Yard's investigation into historic sexual abuse in the wake of allegations against the late DJ Jimmy Savile.

Judge Leonard said Travis' offence was of a "different order of magnitude" to other more serious convictions under Operation Yewtree.

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UKIP Tanks On Labour's Lawn, Says Farage

UKIP Steps Up Bid To Build Four-Party Politics

Updated: 7:29am UK, Friday 26 September 2014

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Nigel Farage and UKIP are attempting to step up from a party of protest to genuine contenders in four-party politics.

After the European elections in May, they could legitimately claim to have done that, having topped the poll with 27.5% of the vote.

It was the first time since the 1906 general election that any party other than Labour or the Conservatives had come top in a national poll.

Now UKIP is bidding to win its first seat in a parliamentary election, when Douglas Carswell attempts to hold his Clacton seat in a by-election on 9 October triggered by his shock defection from the Conservatives. UKIP is also challenging Labour in another by-election on the same day in Heywood & Middleton.

But while Mr Carswell stands a good chance of turning his 12,068 Tory majority in 2010 into a comfortable win for his new party in Clacton, realistically UKIP will win no more than a handful of seats at next year's general election.

The party had hoped its conference this weekend would be a springboard to victory in the two by-elections next month and then a major breakthrough in next year's general election.

But suddenly, Parliament has been recalled to debate going to war and, with no MPs, UKIP has no influence on that decision and its conference is in danger of looking like a sideshow.

It was all very different after the European elections, UKIP's 27.5% of the vote gave the party 23 MEPs. Labour was second with 25.4% and 18 MEPs and the Conservatives third with 23.94% and also 18 MEPs.

The Greens polled 7.87% with three MEPs, while the Liberal Democrats slumped to 6.87%, winning just one MEP. On that showing, it wasn't so much four-party politics as three, with UKIP replacing the Lib Dems as the third party.

But that was the European elections. Parliamentary by-elections are different and the general election different again. Making a breakthrough is harder, as UKIP has already found.

UKIP's task has been made harder by the fact that many of the 18 by-elections since the 2010 general election have been in fairly safe Labour seats. And while UKIP has come second in five, Labour has held them all comfortably, with one spectacular exception.

But in Bradford West, Labour's shock defeat wasn't at the hands of a flamboyant beer-drinking party leader, but an equally flamboyant teetotal firebrand, George Galloway, who stormed to victory by 10,000 votes.

UKIP came second in Barnsley Central, Middlesbrough, Rotherham, South Shields, and Wythenshaw & Sale East.

It came third in Corby and Croydon North, but fourth in Oldham East & Saddleworth, Leicester South, Feltham & Heston and Manchester Central and fifth in Bradford West and Cardiff South & Penarth.

By far UKIP's best result was in Eastleigh, where in the seat previously held by the disgraced Cabinet minister Chris Huhne, Mr Farage's party fell just 1,771 votes short of defeating the Lib Dems.

While UKIP's Diane James was a strong candidate, Mr Farage faced claims that if he had stood he might have won. Not so, he insisted.

In the most recent by-election, in Newark, a monumental Tory effort saw the Conservatives see off the UKIP threat with a comfortable majority of nearly 7,500.

Now the UKIP leader has opted to fight Thanet South, where the Tory majority is 7,617 and a one-term Tory MP, Laura Sandys, is standing down at the general election. Mr Farage is tipped to win. But how many seats will his party win in 2015?

That may depend on whether any more Conservative MPs follow Mr Carswell into the arms of UKIP. And that could depend on how well he does in his by-election next month. Another question: will Mr Carswell hold Clacton in the general election?

Provocatively, UKIP is holding its party conference at Doncaster racecourse, in Ed Miliband's constituency. Mr Farage claims his party takes votes off Labour and Conservatives in equal numbers.

But the evidence of the by-elections so far in this Parliament suggests UKIP will damage the Conservatives more in the general election, handing victory to Labour in some marginals and merely eating into Labour's majority in its safe seats.

The European elections may have given us four-party politics. But unless UKIP springs a surprise and wins more than a handful of seats at Westminster, we won't see four-party politics after the general election.

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NHS To Pay For Ashya King's Cancer Treatment

The NHS is to pay for Ashya King's cancer treatment in Czech capital Prague, it has been announced.

The five-year-old's parents prompted an police hunt across Europe in August when they took him from hospital in Southampton without doctors' consent.

His parents were detained as Portsmouth City Council launched legal action against them, but the High Court later ruled he could be taken to the Czech Republic.

He has since been undergoing treatment at Prague's Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) as part of his recovery from surgery on a brain tumour.

And a statement issued by NHS England said: "Our thoughts are with Ashya and his family as he begins follow-on radiotherapy.

"Now that Ashya is in Prague, it is clearly best that Ashya continues to be treated uninterrupted so the NHS has agreed to fund this care, as requested by his parents, in accordance with relevant European cross-border arrangements.

"We all join in wishing him well, and greatly hope he makes a full and successful recovery."

NHS sources told Sky News they will continue to judge treatment on a case-by-case basis and that Ashya's case did not set a precedent for other patients.

More follows...

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Oklahoma Beheading: Fired Man's Knife Rampage

A man who had just been sacked at an Oklahoma food plant decapitated one female worker and stabbed another before he was shot and wounded by the boss.

Police said Alton Nolen, 30, was "angry" after losing his job when he launched into a knife rampage at Vaughan Foods in Moore on Thursday afternoon.

Mark Vaughn, chief operating officer of the business and also a reserve police officer, is being hailed as a hero after he shot Nolen while the suspect was stabbing a second woman.

Authorities say it appears Nolen targeted the workers at random.

The scene outside the plant in the aftermath of the attack

The attack began at about 4pm when he went to the car park and drove his vehicle to the front of the warehouse where he hit another car. 

Nolen then walked through the main entrance and began his rampage.

Police spokesman Jeremy Lewis told a press conference that Nolen's colleagues had said "he recently started trying to convert several employees to the Muslim religion".

However, it is not clear if his beliefs had any link to the attack. The FBI is also investigating the incident.

The first victim has been identified as 54-year-old Colleen Hufford.

Mr Lewis told Friday morning's press conference: "He did kill Colleen and he did sever her head."

Nolen and the second victim, 43-year-old Traci Johnson, are both in a stable condition in hospital, said police.

Mr Lewis praised Mr Vaughn's swift action.

"It could have gotten a lot worse," he said. "This guy (Nolen) was definitely not going to stop."

There were said to be several hundred employees inside the warehouse at the time of the attack.

According to the state department of corrections, Nolen was convicted in 2011 of marijuana possession, intent to distribute cocaine, escape from detention and assault on a police officer.

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MPs Vote Yes To Airstrikes Against Islamic State

MPs have overwhelmingly backed airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq - meaning RAF bombing raids could take place in hours.

Parliament gave approval by 524 votes to 43 (a massive majority of 481) for Britain to join the US-led coalition in the Middle East after the Prime Minister said IS forces are "psychopathic terrorists trying to kill us".

Labour MP Rushanara Ali immediately resigned from the party's front bench after the result was announced.

Labour leader Ed Miliband told her afterwards: "I know that you have thought long and hard about this. I respect and accept your resignation."

Ian McKenzie, the Labour MP for Inverclyde, was sacked as a parliamentary aide to Shadow Defence Secretary Vernon Coaker for voting against military action.

Tory rebel John Baron, who also voted against the motion, warned that airstrikes alone would not defeat IS and could prove counter-productive.

"We should have learned from previous interventions that just kicking the door down and walking away is not the right policy," he said.

David Cameron told the Commons debate that Islamist militants "have already murdered one British hostage" and are "threatening the lives of two more".

He described IS, which has invaded large areas of Syria and Iraq, as "a terrorist organisation unlike those we have dealt with before".

He said: "The brutality is staggering - beheadings, crucifixions, the gouging out of eyes, the use of rape as a weapon, the slaughter of children. All of these things belong to the dark ages."

Labour MP Rushanara Ali immediately resigned after the result was announced

The PM said the shadow of the 2003 decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq "hangs heavy" over the vote, but told MPs: "We must not use past mistakes as an excuse for indifference or inaction."

Britain has six Tornado GR4 fighter bombers in Cyprus ready to strike northern Iraq, a figure which Cabinet minister Kenneth Clarke said would make the UK's military contribution "almost symbolic".

The planes have been in RAF Akrotiri for the past six weeks carrying out surveillance missions in the Middle East.

During the six-and-a-half-hour debate, Mr Miliband said he understood the deep unease about taking military action, but said the UK could not stand by in the face of the threat from IS, also known as ISIL.

"ISIL is not simply a murderous organisation; it has ambitions for a state of its own - a caliphate across the Middle East, run according to their horrific norms and values," he said.

But in a typically firebrand intervention, outspoken Respect MP George Galloway said bombing would not work, and stressed the need to strengthen ground forces in the region.

An RAF Tornado GR4 carrying Storm Shadow missiles

He said: "ISIL is a death cult, it's a gang of terrorist murderers. It's not an army and it's certainly not an army that's going to be destroyed by aerial bombardment."

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, backed UK airstrikes, telling the House of Lords: "The action proposed today is right."

But he warned "we must not rely on a short-term solution" and a wider effort was needed to turn extremists away from the "evil of ISIL".

On Thursday, the Cabinet unanimously backed military action against IS, which could last up to three years.

The PM was desperate to avoid the embarrassment of the Commons defeat on Syria airstrikes last year, and tabled a cautiously-worded motion intended to win support from all parties for action in Iraq.

Mr Cameron went into the debate with an opinion poll suggesting voters strongly back Iraq airstrikes, but would also support attacks against Syria.

More follows...

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#SkyAskRaqqa: Life Under IS Militants Revealed

What We Know About The IS Capital Raqqa

Updated: 12:51pm UK, Tuesday 16 September 2014

Raqqa in northern Syria is Islamic State's power base and the focus of international efforts to defeat the Islamic extremists and rescue Western hostages.

The city - effectively the capital of the IS "caliphate" - is almost completely inaccessible to journalists and Westerners - but information can be gleaned from IS propaganda videos, residents who have managed to flee and an underground resistance network that posts videos and reports online.

:: Raqqa is the highly organised capital of the jihadists' Islamic caliphate

IS captured Raqqa amid fierce fighting in May 2013 but has maintained a hold on the city by setting up a functioning government and public services. Military operations and civilian administration are run separately, with fighters and employees getting a salary from the "Muslim Financial House" department. IS has claimed the poor are effectively paid benefits, while taxes are imposed on the wealthy and prices are kept low in the markets. Foreign experts have been recruited to run ministries - a Tunisian with a PhD in charge of telecoms, an Egyptian engineer serving as oil minister.

:: The city is the centre of the search for Jihadi John

Raqqa is believed to be where IS is holding some 20 international hostages, including Briton Alan Henning, and intelligence efforts to save them are focused on the city. Experts and a small resistance movement within the city have matched up photos and video footage to pinpoint the location on the outskirts of the city where they believe James Foley was beheaded. They suggest the killings took place on open ground near a cemetery, not far from the city's Alltihad University.

:: IS is thought to be using a network of tunnels under the city

The hunt for the hostages and their captors has been frustrated due to the suspected use by IS of a network of underground tunnels to move around the city. IS is believed to move the hostages between safe locations regularly and the group's leaders, including Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, rarely stay in one place for more than a day or two.

:: Foreign fighters have "flooded" the city

A jihadist boasted to Reuters this month that Raqqa was welcoming 1,000 new IS volunteers every three days, many of them from abroad. Fighters with South African, French, Dutch, Australian and of course British accents have appeared in videos or on social media praising life under the Islamic State. The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation claims Glaswegian Aqsa Mahmood is a key figure in the al Khanssaa brigade, a female militia set up to punish women for "non-Islamic" behaviour.

:: The Hisbah police keep the people in check

The hisbah - clad in a distinctive uniform of white thobe with black waistcoats and black caps - patrol the streets with Kalashnikovs slung over their backs, enforcing strict Sharia law in the previously cosmopolitan city. They police everything from the price of beef in markets to female dress and follow up on reports of residents suspected of using drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. Attendance at prayers is rigidly enforced, with jihadists boasting of emptying once busy markets five times a day. Anyone who crosses the hisbah faces immediate imprisonment and punishment according to Sharia law - from whipping for alcohol sellers to public execution for drug users.

:: Children are being drawn into the IS cause

Raqqa is the IS base for preparing the next generation of jihadists. Islamic education groups are held in mosques and festivals have been held to encourage youngsters to sign up to the cause. Children are shown videos of beheadings to inure them to violence and warn them of the consequences of resisting the jihadists. Warda Ali, a female resident who fled Raqqa after resisting IS, told US broadcaster NPR how parents - keen to please their new rulers - brought their children to the town square to watch public beheadings.

:: Resistance - "Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently"

A small group of activists have been risking their lives to reveal a true picture of the grim conditions imposed by IS. Under the slogan "Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently," they post videos and photos of public executions and other punishments meted out by the Islamists, as well as possible locations for IS training camps and the executions of Western hostages. IS has condemned the activists as "enemies of the lord" and reportedly executed one, Motaz Billah, after tracing him through Facebook.

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Stand Up Be Counted: Labour Plans Lack 'Depth'

When they arrived at the Labour Party conference earlier this week, Sky News' two Stand Up Be Counted contributors could surely not have imagined chasing after Ed Miliband or bumping into the shadow business secretary.

Yet for Charlene Osuagwu and Michael Adams, the opportunity to attend the annual event in Manchester - a trip organised in conjunction with Media Trust - has thrust them both into the centre of the political sphere.

Matters of interest to young people - not least votes for 16-year-olds - were always likely to be on the agenda, as Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats set out what they hope will be vote-winning plans ahead of the election next year.

But how did Mr Miliband perform on those youth issues? Here are Charlene's thoughts:

"After three days at the Labour Party conference, the first part of our conference experience has come to an end.

"Michael, my fellow Stand Up Be Counted contributor, and I came to Manchester intent on learning how Labour plans to empower young people and, more critically, engage young people in the political process.

Charlene says some young people believe Labour plans need more depth

"We leave with high expectations for our remaining two party conferences.

"Following the Scottish referendum, we expected the leaders to touch on lowering the voting age to 16 and youth involvement, if only briefly.

"However, in a passionate declaration, which saw Ed Miliband boldly assert the party's commitment to encouraging social mobility and political engagement among the youth, the defining role young people could plan ahead of next year's general election became increasingly apparent.

"Nevertheless, while proving to be a great positive for some of the young people present at conference, a recurring point of criticism among others was the lack of depth demonstrated when Labour sought to explain how they would affect such plans.

"Though Miliband had himself made reference to the increasing sense of distrust young voters have of Westminster, his campaign at conference, though commendable, may not have eased such thoughts entirely."

Stand Up Be Counted is an innovative new platform for young people to speak out on issues that matter most them.

Less than a month after its launch, the website is a stream of opinions on topics ranging from gender equality, political education and unemployment to the police, youth centres and immigration.

Anyone aged 16-25 can join the debate by signing up for the site and uploading a short video or blog post.

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Freed Abu Qatada 'Will Not Be Returning To UK'

Timeline: Qatada Legal Battle

Updated: 10:35am UK, Wednesday 24 September 2014

Abu Qatada challenged and ultimately thwarted every attempt by the Government to detain and deport him for many years.

Here is a timeline of the legal battle.

1993: Abu Qatada claims asylum when he arrives in Britain on a forged passport.

1994: Allowed to stay in Britain.

1995: Issues a "fatwa" justifying the killing of converts from Islam, their wives and children in Algeria.

1998: Applies for indefinite leave to remain in Britain.

1999: April - Convicted in his absence on terror charges in Jordan and sentenced to life imprisonment.

October - Speaks in London advocating the killing of Jews and praising attacks on Americans.

2001: February - Arrested by anti-terror police over involvement in a plot to bomb Strasbourg Christmas market. Officers find him with £170,000 in cash, including £805 in an envelope marked "For the mujahedin in Chechnya".

December - Becomes one of Britain's most wanted men after going on the run from his home in west London.

2002: Arrested by police in a council house in south London and detained in Belmarsh high-security jail.

2005: Freed on conditional bail and placed on a control order but arrested again in August under immigration rules as the Government seeks to deport him to Jordan.

2008: April: Court of Appeal rules deportation would breach his human rights because evidence used against him in Jordan might have been obtained through torture.

May - Granted bail by the immigration tribunal but told he must stay inside for 22 hours a day.

June - Released from Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire and moves into a four-bedroom house in west London.

November - He is rearrested after the Home Office tells an immigration hearing of fears he plans to abscond.

December - Qatada's bail is revoked by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) after hearing secret evidence that the risk of him absconding has increased.

2009: Five Law Lords unanimously back the Government's policy of removing terror suspects from Britain on the basis of assurances from foreign governments and it is ruled he can be deported to Jordan to face a retrial on the terror charges.

He is awarded 2,800 euro (£2,500) compensation by the European Court of Human Rights after the judges rule that his detention without trial in the UK under anti-terrorism powers breached his human rights.

2012: January - European judges rule he can be sent to Jordan with diplomatic assurances but not while "there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him".

February - He is released on strict bail conditions.

April - Rearrested as the Government prepares to deport him after Jordan gives assurances it will "bend over backwards" to ensure he receives a fair trial.

March - Qatada's legal team loses its bid to have the case heard by the Europe's human rights judges, clearing the way for deportation proceedings to continue.

May and August - Siac rejects Qatada's applications for bail.

October - Siac holds appeal hearing.

November - His appeal is granted and he is granted bail.

December - Qatada is moved to a larger residence in the greater London area.

2013: March 9 - It emerges Qatada has been arrested for allegedly breaching his bail conditions. He is ordered to stay in custody and sent to Belmarsh.

March 21 - Police reveal the cleric is being investigated over extremist material.

March 27 - Home Secretary Theresa May loses her appeal over Siac's decision to allow Qatada to stay in the UK. The Home Office vows to appeal.

April 17 - The Home Office formally announces that it is seeking leave from the Court of Appeal to take the case to the Supreme Court.

April 22 - The Court of Appeal refuses permission to go to the Supreme Court, forcing the Home Office to appeal directly to the highest court in the land.

April 23 - Theresa May tells MPs she has signed a new treaty with Jordan that should pave the way to deportation, but warns it might take "many months".

May 10 - Qatada's barrister says he will go back to Jordan voluntarily if the treaty on the use of evidence obtained by torture, guaranteeing he will not be tortured, is ratified by the Jordanian parliament.

May 20 - Qatada is refused bail by the Special Immigrations Appeals Commission after "jihadist material" is found on a computer memory stick.

July 2 - The new treaty between Jordan and Britain is fully ratified, sparking claims Qatada could be on a plane within days.

July 3 - A Jordanian government official tells AFP the cleric is due back on Sunday.

July 7 - Flown from RAF Northolt to Jordan

December 10: Pleads not guilty to terrorism charges at a state security court in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

2014: June 26 - Acquitted of conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism over 1998 bomb plots allegations.

September 24 - Acquitted over plot to target Western tourists over the New Year in Jordan in 2000.

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Video: Man Reveals Lottery Win To Ecstatic Sons

Cheque Him Out: $425m Jackpot Winner Hides Face

Updated: 9:35am UK, Wednesday 02 April 2014

The sole winner of a $425m (£255m) Powerball jackpot has come forward to claim his prize after more than a month - but still did not show his face.

B Raymond Buxton, from California, accepted his prize - one of the largest Powerball jackpots in history - at the California Lottery headquarters in Sacramento.

In a photo taken after he claimed the money, Mr Buxton covered his face with an oversize cheque.

His t-shirt featured a picture of Yoda, the Star Wars character, and read, "Luck of the Jedi I have".

Mr Buxton is hoping to remain out of the limelight and hired a publicist to avoid speaking directly to the media.

He also will not reveal his age, address or what he did for a living until his very recent retirement.

"He really wants to live a private life as best he can," said his publicist, Sam Singer.

"He was a solidly middle-class American, and today he is a solidly wealthy one."

In a statement, Mr Buxton said he was shocked after hearing about the February 19 drawing.

After the winning numbers were announced, he sat in front of his computer in disbelief. He checked and double-checked his ticket and did not tell anybody.

"Sitting on a ticket of this value was very scary," he said in the statement.

"Once the initial shock passed, I couldn't sleep for days."

Since winning, he has been working with a lawyer and financial adviser to establish new bank accounts, set up a charity and sort out tax issues.

Mr Buxton bought the ticket at the Dixon Landing Chevron station in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Milpitas, about 10 miles (17km) north of San Jose.

He had been having lunch at a Subway restaurant inside the station when he decided to buy another ticket because the jackpot was so large, lottery officials said.

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MPs Sob At 'Keep Your Mitts Off My NHS' Speech

A 91-year-old Second World War veteran has upstaged Ed Miliband at the Labour Party conference with a passionate and tear-jerking speech on the health service.

Harry Smith moved audience members to tears as he made a passionate case for the NHS and warned David Cameron: "Keep your mitts off my NHS."

Mr Smith received a number of standing ovations as he detailed his life in a "barbarous, bleak and uncivilised" Barnsley slum where he listened to the screams of a woman dying of cancer because she could not afford the medicine to dull the pain.

Mr Miliband admits he forgot to mention the deficit

His eight-minute speech came after a poorly received 66-minute keynote by the Labour leader on Tuesday, which was roundly condemned after it emerged he forgot to mention the deficit.

Political pundits were hailing Mr Smith's speech as a lesson to Mr Miliband in delivery, saying he had managed to make a powerful case for the NHS in a way the leader had failed to.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham with Harry Smith

Steve Hawkes, deputy political editor, of the Sun, tweeted: "91 year-old Harry Smith shows Ed Miliband how to do it - rousing speech (from autocue) that gets delegates on their feet."

Another Twitter user, Robert Bennett, wrote: "Harry Smith 91 years didn't forget any of his speech."

Tears rolling down the cheek of one Labour delegate

While another, Mark Robinson, tweeted: "Such a contrast between Harry Smith's speech and Ed Miliband's."

Labour politicians, including the shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, wept openly as he described how his sister had to be buried in a paupers' pit after dying of tuberculosis at the age of 10.

He said the family watched as she faded away, unable to help because they "just didn't have the dosh to keep her comfortable".

Another conference member wipes her eyes

Mr Smith said that eventually she was sent to die in a workhouse infirmary because her mother could no longer care for her.

Mr Smith told the conference: "In my heart, I can still feel my mum and dad's desperation as they were trying to keep our family safe and healthy in the slum we called home.

"Common disease controlled our neighbourhood and snuffed out life like a cold breath on a warm candlelit flame."

He said he was born in 1923 to a life that was nothing like an episode of Downton Abbey, where hospitals and doctors were for the privileged few.

But he said while his heart was with the children of his generation who did not make it, it was also with the people of the present who were struggling because of welfare cuts and austerity measures.

He finished: "Today we must be vigilant. We must never ever let the NHS free from our grasp because if we do, your future will be my past.

"My life is your history and we should keep it that way.

"So say it loud and say in clear in this hall and across this country, Mr Cameron, keep your mitts off my NHS."

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iPhone 6 Plus Reportedly Bends In Tight Pockets

Apple's new iPhone 6 Plus may bend substantially if put into a tight pocket for a prolonged period of time, some users claim.

A record 10-million units of it and the smaller iPhone 6 were sold within two days of the Friday launch, but some users have complained that their device is more fragile than they expected.

One user, Nelson Cardoz, posted a photograph of a misshapen phone on Twitter with the message: "The iPhone 6 could bend in your pocket! Haha, love you Apple."

He told Sky News that when he contacted Apple about the problem they offered to replace his device.

A YouTube channel called Unbox Therapy uploaded a video of a man using a tight grip to bend the phone out of shape.

The bend appears to occur just below the side-mounted volume buttons.

However, website Cult Of Mac said some users reported similar complaints about the iPhone 5s, as well as Sony, Samsung, BlackBerry and HTC smartphones.

On Monday Apple chief executive Tim Cook said the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch was its "best ever", and had "shattered" all previous sales records.

The iPhone 6 Plus is Apple's largest ever phone, and features a 5.5-inch screen. The increased size and reduced thickness may be responsible for the bending.

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British Jihadi Killed In US Airstrike - Reports

A 19-year-old British jihadi has been killed in a US airstrike in Syria, according to reports.

The man, from Brighton, East Sussex, is thought to have been fighting for al Nusra, an affiliate group of al Qaeda, in Aleppo, The Guardian said.

The newspaper named him as Ibrahim Kamara, and said his nom de guerre was Khalid al Britani.

Al Nusra has been fighting against both the Syrian government and Islamic State militants in the country's civil war.

The Foreign Office said they are "aware of the reports", and are trying to verify them.

A picture posted on Facebook appears to show Mr Kamara's face in an unzipped body bag covered in fine sand, The Guardian said.

He reportedly studied at Brighton's Vardean College for one year to resit his GCSE exams.

His mother, Khadijah Kamara, 35, said she felt numb and confused when she was told her eldest son was dead.

"It's confusing. I don't know what I felt or how I am feeling," she told The Guardian.

She said she knew he was going to die when she found out he was in Syria, and came close to disowning him.

"He called me in February. He said: 'Mum, I'm in Syria', and I hung up. He rang again and I said: 'Don't ever call me.'"

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Huge Cocaine Haul: Drugs Seized On Cork Yacht

Up to a ton of cocaine, worth at least £54.8m, has been seized from a yacht off the southwest coast of Ireland.

According to Sky's Ireland Correspondent, David Blevins, the vessel is currently being escorted to Cork by Irish defence forces.

Three British men are reported to have been arrested.

The drugs have an estimated street value of €70m - €80m (£54.8m - £62.6m).

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IS-Linked Group Beheads Hostage In Video

A video showing a hostage being beheaded by a group linked to Islamic State is genuine, French president Francois Hollande has said.

Herve Gourdel, a 55-year-old hiker from Nice in southern France, was kidnapped on Sunday by Jund al Khilafah.

The group had given France a 24-hour deadline to stop its airstrikes against IS in Iraq.

Mr Hollande has denounced the killing as "cruel and cowardly", and said he will be chairing a special security meeting at the Elysee Palace on Thursday.

In the clip issued by Algerian militants, the tourist was seen kneeling with his arms bound behind his back, as four masked men read a message in Arabic which condemned France.

Mr Gourdel was then pushed on to his side and held down.

Shortly after the group - known as the Caliphate Soldiers in English - released the video, France's foreign minister Laurent Fabius insisted the abduction would not deter his nation's participation in a US-led offensive against IS.

The video was entitled "A Message With Blood To The French Government", and began to circulate on jihadist websites on Wednesday.

It began with an excerpt of Francois Hollande, France's president, making a speech, before showing Mr Gourdel in his final moments of life.

Prior to the mountain guide's beheading, Mr Hollande had insisted: "As grave as this situation is, we will not give in to any blackmail, any pressure, any ultimatum, no matter how odious, how despicable."

In a statement before news of the killing emerged, Mr Gourdel's family said they had learned of the kidnapping "with great pain", and described him as a "father, partner, son, brother and very dear friend".

Intelligence sources believe there could be 10 Western hostages still being held by Islamic State.

One Briton, David Haines, as well as Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff, have lost their lives at the hands of the group in the past few weeks.

Islamic State has threatened to kill Alan Henning, a British aid convoy volunteer.

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MPs To Vote On Airstrikes Against Islamic State

David Cameron is to recall Parliament on Friday to ask MPs to support UK airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq.

MPs will vote on whether RAF planes should join the US, France and five Arab states in bombarding IS positions.

The airstrikes could take place as early as the weekend.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Speaker has agreed to the Prime Minister's request to recall Parliament this Friday to debate the UK's response to the request from the Iraqi Government for air strikes to support operations against ISIL in Iraq.

"The Commons will meet on Friday for a debate on a substantive motion.

"The Prime Minister will open the debate and the Deputy Prime Minister will close the debate. 

"The Prime Minister has called a meeting of the Cabinet tomorrow at 1pm."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the Liberal Democrats would support UK airstrikes, pointing out they are "legal" because they had been requested by the Iraqi government.

"There are many people across the country who see what this medieval murderous organisation does, slaughtering people regardless of their ethnicity or their religion; an organisation which is actively plotting to do us harm in this country," he said.

"I think most people across the country want the British Government to play our part in ridding the world of this vile threat."

On Friday, MPs will sit at 10.30am and debate the Government's motion until 5pm.

Meanwhile, a 19-year-old British jihadi has reportedly been killed in a US airstrike in Syria.

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