Mark Bridger: Prisoner Admits Knife Attack

A prisoner has admitted slashing child killer Mark Bridger across the face at one of Britain's most secure jails.

Bridger, who was jailed earlier this year for abducting and murdering five-year-old April Jones, needed hospital treatment after he was attacked with a makeshift blade on July 7.

Bridger was sentenced on May 30 and was sent to HMP Wakefield, a category A prison where some of Britain's most dangerous offenders are held.

Juvinai Ferreira, 22, admitted attacking Bridger as he appeared via videolink for a short hearing at Leeds Crown Court.

On screen in court, Ferreira, originally from Gambia, looked bored and propped his head up with his hand for most of the proceedings.

At one point, he could be heard asking his guards: "I thought this was going to be quick?"

After judge Christopher Batty told him the case was going to be adjourned until sentencing on October 2, Ferreira said to him: "Can you just not sentence me? I can't keep coming back. Just give me anything and move on."

Ferreira is serving a life sentence for the murder of Elaine Walpole in Dereham, Norfolk, in April 2008.

Bridger was attacked by a fellow prisoner at HMP Wakefield

At the time police said Ferreira moved to Dereham in 2007 with a relative after escaping civil war in Africa.

He befriended Miss Walpole, an alcoholic who lived alone, after they met at a shop and she bought him cigarettes.

A post-mortem examination showed the 47-year-old mother-of-three had been stabbed three times and bitten.

Prosecutors in the case described Ferreira as "sex-crazed".

Father-of-six Bridger, 47, abducted April as she played near her home in Machynlleth in Powys before murdering the schoolgirl.

A judge at Mold Crown Court sentenced the former slaughterhouse worker to a whole-life tariff in May.

The five-year-old's body has never been found.

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Le Vell Trial: Prosecutor Denies 'Witch-Hunt'

One of Britain's top prosecutors has denied actor Michael Le Vell was subjected to a celebrity "witch-hunt", as the debate about whether to give anonymity to those accused of sex crimes continues to rage.

Nazir Afzal, the Crown Prosecution Service lead on child sexual exploitation, insisted "nobody should be above the law" and said he would not shy away from high profile cases.

It comes after Mr Le Vell, who plays Kevin Webster in the ITV soap Coronation Street, was cleared of all 12 charges against him by a jury at Manchester Crown Court.

"I absolutely detest this word witch-hunt. It is not a witch-hunt," Mr Afzal said.

"We look at the evidence. We follow the evidence. We present the evidence."

He said it "does not matter" if, when looking at the evidence, "it takes us to someone who might have drawn attention to themselves publicly in some way, shape or form".

Mr Afzal says evidence against celebrities will continue to be investigated

Defence lawyer Nick Freeman told Sky News that Mr Le Vell's acquittal "urgently highlights" the need for anonymity for those accused of sexual offences until they are convicted.

"These heinous allegations carry a terrible social stigma and a revulsion that transcends most other criminal offences," he said.

"These don't die with an acquittal - they stay with a person for the rest of their life."

However, Mark Williams-Thomas, a child protection expert, argued that under the current system victims feel "more confident" in coming forward and speaking to the police.

"We need to look at the detrimental effect not naming individuals could have," he said.

"We know that as a result of the (Jimmy) Savile investigations, people came forward and made allegations.

Ex-broadcaster Hall is serving a 30-month jail sentence for sexual assault

"Stuart Hall was then prosecuted, having initially vehemently denied the allegations ... and is now in jail."

Mr Le Vell's legal team argued it was a "strange case of child rape" without any DNA evidence or injuries to the alleged victim, who claimed she had been raped and abused when she was younger.

Jurors were told to decide whether the girl was telling the truth or had set out to "quite literally destroy" the actor's life.

Sky News Correspondent Nick Martin, outside the Manchester studios of ITV, which is in talks with Mr Le Vell about a return to Coronation Street, said the debate about anonymity had divided opinion.

"In the past, it's been very difficult for people who have been acquitted to move on," he said.

"Many people think the slur and the stigma can go on to ruin people's lives.

"On the other side of the argument ... other victims see that person going through the court. It's claimed they are then encouraged to come forward and that their evidence can bolster cases."

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Vince Cable Raises Help-To-Buy Doubts

Vince Cable has called for the Government's flagship help-to-buy property scheme to be reconsidered in comments likely to anger George Osborne.

The Business Secretary told Sky News there was a risk of a "new housing bubble" because of recent changes in the market.

Mr Osborne's plans were a key plank of his Budget last year but prompted fears of a price surge because they do not address property availability.

Under the first stage, an equity loan scheme allows buyers with only a 5% deposit to buy a new-build property worth up to £600,000.

In January, the scheme will be extended to include a mortgage guarantee for buyers of any home up to the same value with deposits of 5-20%.

It is due to last for three years.

Asked if it should be rethought, Mr Cable said: "We should certainly think about how it should come into effect, indeed whether it should come into effect in the light of changing market conditions.

"We don't want a new housing bubble."

He cited warnings from experts including from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors this week about the "real risk" involved.

George Osborne recently hailed the change in economic fortunes

"I think in many parts of the country it clearly isn't a problem. If you are in Northern Ireland or Wales or indeed the East Midlands you would wonder what all this is about," he said.

"But certainly in London and the South East, in the north east of Scotland, in other areas, there are serious housing inflationary pressures."

Despite the warning, Treasury sources confirmed the Government's commitment to the policy and its launch next year.

Government sources added there were no plans for a rethink but that Mr Cable wants the Bank of England to keep a close eye on the scheme's effects.

His comments came shortly before he had been due to warn about "complacency" over Britain's economic recovery, insisting ministers cannot "rest on our laurels".

The keynote speech in Warwick was set to be a stark contrast to an address by Mr Osborne on Monday, in which the Chancellor declared the economy was finally "turning a corner".

But Mr Cable ended up toning down his remarks while still making clear the recovery was not yet assured and further Government action was needed to address the skills shortage and boost exports.

"The kind of growth we want won't simply emerge of its own volition. In fact, I see a number of dangers. One is letting up just because we have had a few quarters of good economic data," he said.

"Recovery will not be fully established until we see strong and sustained business investment."

In a separate interview, he also stressed that he supported Mr Osborne's comments but said the economy remained in a "long, dark tunnel".

"I don't want the public debate about this to become obsessive about a few weeks' data, when what really matters is the long-term change we're trying to achieve, getting Britain more outward looking, avoiding a return to the boom-bust psychology," he said.

"The point I am trying to make is that this is a long-term haul. We have got a marathon not a sprint here."

Before Mr Cable altered his speech, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said he had delivered an "embarrassing slap-down" to Mr Osborne.

However, he insisted the Lib Dems could not distance themselves from the Chancellor's economic strategy.

"It also reminds everyone that you can't trust a word the Lib Dems say. Vince Cable has supported the Chancellor's policies which choked off the recovery in 2010," he said.

"Three wasted years of flatlining that has left families worse off and done long term damage to our economy is his record and he should take responsibility for it."

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Princes Trade Baby Banter For 9/11 Charity

By Paul Harrison, Royal Correspondent

Princes William and Harry cracked jokes and ribbed each other as they closed multi-billion pound deals in the City to raise money for charity.

As the brothers helped broker record-breaking deals, they shouted across the trading floor, with Prince Harry mocking his brother for being preoccupied with "baby chat".

In remarks to traders, Prince Harry said: "He's on the phone, and it's all baby chat."

The younger brother then turned to Prince William and ordered him to: "Stop flirting, and get on with it!"

Prince William was in an equally mischievous mood telling one person on the end of the phone "It's all a wind-up, I'm Gary".

At the conclusion of one trade, Prince William was heard to remark: "Bloody hell, was that a billion?!"

Sky Sports presenter Charlie Webster interacts on the trading floor

The last deal the brothers made was for €25bn (£21bn), a world record for a forward foreign exchange.

The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry took to BGC Partners' trading floor in Docklands to raise money in memory of those who lost their lives in the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre.

Among the celebrities on hand to help raise money was England rugby captain Chris Robshaw and British actor Idris Elba, who plays the lead role in TV crime series Luther.

BGC broker Nick Thompson, who mentored Harry through the deal he made, said: "Prince Harry was far more confident. Prince William was too busy with the baby chat, rather than the numbers."

After the deal was struck, William conceded: "I'm much better at helicopters."

BGC lost 658 employees in the attack on the World Trade Centre 12 years ago, and its annual Charity Day, now in its ninth year, has so far raised more than £65m.

All profits from the trades during the day are this year donated William's SkillForce and Harry's WellChild charities.

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Philadelphia Girl Found Starved To Death

The parents of a three-year-old girl who starved to death in Philadelphia have been charged with murder.

Nathalyz Rivera, a girl with special needs, weighed only 11 pounds (5kg) when she was found in a filthy home. That is the average weight of a three-month-old.

Her mother took the girl to hospital, wrapped in a dirty blanket, but she was already dead, local news reports say.

The Philadelphia home where the girl was found

When crime scene investigators went to the scene, they wore bio-hazard suits and masks to search the squalid apartment, which was strewn with garbage.

At one point they called the fire department to use their ladder so they could take pictures from the window of the home. 

The girl's parents, Carmen Ramirez and Carlos Rivera, have been charged with third-degree murder.

The Philadelphia homicide captain called it one of the worst cases of child malnutrition he has ever seen.

"I saw the photos, they were extremely disturbing," said homicide captain James Clark.

Nathalyz showed signs of bruising and bites on her body.

Forensic investigators at the scene

"That may have been from fleas or insects or rodents biting her," said Mr Clark.

The couple's four other children - aged nine, eight, seven, and a twin of the three-year-old girl who died - were placed in the custody of children's welfare services.

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Turkey Shooting: British Family 'Shocked'

The family of three British people shot, including one fatally, in Turkey have said they were "lovely people who would never harm anybody".

Catherine Anne Bury, who was known as Anne, died after she was attacked at the family villa allegedly by her gardener.

Her son Alex, 24, and mother Cecilia, who is in her 80s, were injured in the shooting in the resort of Dalyan on Monday.

The family of 56-year-old Ms Bury thanked people for their "warm wishes and condolences at this very sad time".

Alex Bury was shot in the leg

They added: "Although our family are still deeply shocked and grieving for Anne, we are pleased to say that both Anne's mother and son are recovering from their injuries.

"Both have been given wonderful care, treatment and support by hospital and consulate staff and many other local people."

Mr Bury has described how he pleaded with the alleged gunman Veli Acar to stop the attack, trying to reason with him before he opened fire on his mother.

Speaking from his bed in Mugla University Hospital, Mr Bury told The Times he recognised the gunman as Acar, their gardener who was said to have been in a relationship with his mother.

Mr Bury is recovering in hospital after the shooting

Acar had apparently threatened the family earlier that weekend, but was later released by the police and returned with a pump-action shotgun to the Bury's villa.

Mr Bury, who was shot in the leg, said: "I tried to reason with him. I told him it didn't have to be this way.

"He lifted the gun to his shoulder and gestured for me to go through to my mother and grandmother's room. They had heard me talking and had locked themselves in the room."

Acar is alleged to have gunned down Ms Bury as she cowered in the villa bathroom.

The family added: "It appears that the person that Anne employed as a general gardener/handyman, to look after her holiday villas, has committed this terrible crime.

"We cannot comprehend the mentality of somebody who would do this to three lovely people who would never harm anybody.

"We would like once again to thank everyone for their kindness and offers of help - they are a great source of strength to us."

The alleged gunman was the gardener at the villa

The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism confirmed the death of Ms Bury, who lived in the North Yorkshire village of Swainby.

Ms Bury, who trained as a midwife, had been working for an oil company in Dubai in a health role.

Her son worked at a North Yorkshire hotel, the Cleveland Tontine, after taking a year out of university, but is hoping to restart his studies in medicine.

Ms Bury's mother has been discharged after treatment.

Acar is said to have given himself up after the shooting and is due in court.

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Hillsborough: Police Notebooks Handed In

Dozens of police notebooks that could contain vital new information about the Hillsborough disaster have been recovered by investigators.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said 90 pocket notebooks had been handed in to South Yorkshire Police by retired and serving officers.

The force has also found boxes of notebooks and other documents which could also contain important details.

Deputy chairwoman of the IPCC Deborah Glass said: "This is an ongoing criminal investigation the like of which has never been seen before in this country.

"Hillsborough has had a history of inquiries by the police and others, many completed quickly, coming to flawed conclusions. Our investigations need to deliver the last, definitive account."

Last month the IPCC revealed that at least one officer made a note of what happened that day, against instructions, and that none of the previous investigations had recovered any such notebooks.

Hillsborough families at a high court hearing

The disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans at the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest in 1989, is now at the centre of the biggest ever inquiry into police conduct in the UK.

The IPCC said it has uncovered evidence to suggest that the statements of 74 more officers might have been changed, and that fans' witness accounts could also have been altered.

This is on top of the 164 police statements that were previously said to have been amended.

Investigators are to appeal for witnesses in relation to how West Midlands Police ran their inquiry into the handling of the disaster by South Yorkshire Police.

Ms Glass said: "This appeal, which will be launched next week, forms a crucial element to our investigation. We want to hear people's experiences of that process.

"We have already had a number of people contact us with concerns that their statements were amended and we have no doubt there are others who have not contacted us.

"We want to be able to present as full as possible a picture of witness evidence, both for the inquests and the criminal investigations."

Liverpool Football Club is expected to promote the appeal during the team's home match against Southampton on September 21.

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Costa Concordia Wreck To Rise From The Depths

Testing of a stabilisation system to salvage the wreck of the 114,000-tonne Costa Concordia has begun off the Italian island of Giglio.

Mechanics are checking the strength and safety of metal cables they have built around the ship before they begin the ambitious task.

The remarkable feat of engineering is expected to take take place in a month providing authorities are satisfied there are no safety concerns.

Some 500 engineers and divers from 21 countries have been active at the site 24-hours a day, seven days a week, assisted by 30 marine vessels. The budget for the project - which is taking place more than a year and a half after the disaster - has reached €500m (£421,000).

The wreck will first be stablised with submarine anchors

Retrieval of fuel from the ship's 15 tanks and collection of 240 cubic metres of waste water and sewage to prevent pollution, was completed earlier this year.

Senior salvage master, Nicholas Sloane, said: "We have 100 divers in the water every day, we have 55 welders on the project 24-hours a day and 21 nationalities coming together - it's quite remarkable what's been achieved."

UK engineering firm Frugo Seacore will salvage and retrieve the wreck in five stages.

A false seabed will be installed before the ship is 'parbuckled' (righted)

Once afloat, a section of about 18 metres of the hull will remain submerged as the ship is towed away to be dismantled.

According to engineers the project is currently 77% complete and it is hoped it will be finished by winter.

The manslaughter trial of the Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, resumes on September 23. The ship struck a reef, took on water and listed badly before capsizing off Giglio's port.

Prosecutors alleged Schettino steered the boat too close to shore, though he claims the reef did not appear on his navigational charts.

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Syria: UN Accuses Assad As Obama Backtracks

How Chemical Weapons Can Be Removed

Updated: 8:14pm UK, Tuesday 10 September 2013

By Ian Woods, Senior News Correspondent

The US government has some expertise in how international observers can oversee the disposal of unwanted chemical weapons.

The Americans have allowed inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to supervise the elimination of their own stockpiles of unwanted sarin, VX and mustard gas.

The shells were part of a Cold War arsenal which had to be destroyed after the US became one of the 189 countries which signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, which was drawn up in the mid-1990s.

So, as the White House tries to work out whether the Russian/Syrian disarmament offer is genuine, it knows that where there is the will, there is a way. 

The first step would be for Syria to sign and ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention, which reports suggest it is now prepared to do.

It was one of only five countries to refuse to sign up; the others are Egypt, Angola, North Korea and South Sudan.

Israel and Burma signed but did not ratify the convention.

Once formal agreement is in place, Syria would have to provide a full inventory of stockpile locations and manufacturing sites, which would then be verified by inspectors from the OPCW.

The international experts would monitor the destruction of the weapons, but it would be up to the Syrians themselves to do the work, and to pay for it.

Many international chemical weapons experts believe there are substantial stocks to be destroyed. 

Hamish de Bretton Gordon told Sky News that Mr Assad has "up to a 1,000 tonnes of sarin, slightly less of VX",

He said: "He has substantial amounts of mustard gas, potentially also biological weapons.

"The fact that he's now agreed that the international community take control of his stockpile of chemical weapons is a pretty fair indicator that he has what we think he has.

"This strikes me as being a lengthy and fairly laborious exercise, but some lateral thinking and some bold action is what is required. Technically it's workable."

The OPCW is not part of the United Nations, so a UN resolution is not necessary to get inspectors into Syria if the regime in Damascus becomes a willing signatory.

Within 30 days of signing the Chemical Weapons Convention Syria would be legally obliged to allow the inspectors access.

It could take several weeks to get inspectors on the ground and ensure it is safe for them to carry out their task.

A country torn apart by an ongoing civil war is not the most stable place to be overseeing the collection and disposal of chemical weapons and the destruction of the arsenal will take many months.

Sky News visited Anniston, Alabama, in 2003 when the US Army was beginning the task of destroying its ageing and corroding stockpile of chemical weapons.

The site held just 7% of America's arsenal of such weapons. It took eight years to complete the task.

By 2012 almost 90% of America's chemical arsenal had been destroyed. Two more sites are currently being built in Colorado and Kentucky to destroy what remains.

But such weapons are usually destroyed in peacetime, not in the midst of a war.

Professor Alastair Hay from the University of Leeds has worked on chemical weapons issues for four decades.

He said: "The inspectors couldn't do their work if they were being shot at so you will have to ensure that the inspectors are safe, and that they can get access to all of the sites that they can do a decent inventory.

"Having located all those stocks, what's the best way of securing them? Should they stay where they are and be monitored, or should they be moved?

"And of course if they need to be moved, where would they go? And can you transport them safely to some other location, moving them through residential locations?

"But if it can de done it's much better than blowing these things up."

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Man Set On Fire: Murder Pair Jailed For Life

Two men have been jailed for life for killing a man by setting him on fire and trying to kill his brother the same way.

Jakub Ostrowski and Mariusz Florowski were both convicted of murder and attempted murder earlier this month.

The pair were each sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in jail for the murder of 35-year-old Benedykt Nowak, also known as Ben.

They also got 27 years for the attempted murder of Sam Nowak and eight years for recklessly endangering the lives of others by arson as police said justice had been done.

Both men's sentences will run concurrently and they have been told they must serve a minimum of 30 years before they are considered for release.

During the three-week trial, the Old Bailey heard how police were called last February to reports of a fire at a commercial premises in the Dilloway industrial estate in Southall.

Ben Nowak died after suffering severe burns (Pic: Met Police)

London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service also went to scene and Ben and 27-year-old Sam Nowak were taken to hospital suffering serious injuries where Ben later died.

Police said 37-year-old Ostrowski, of Isleworth, and Florowski, 38, of Greenford, carried out a prolonged violent attack on the brothers before drenching them both in petrol.

Detective Sergeant Stuart Reeves said: "Acting together they then set light to Benedykt Nowak causing him such severe burns that he later died in hospital.

"Przemyslaw (Sam) Nowak managed to escape but was severely injured in the attack.

"The subsequent fire also caused a vast amount of damage putting the lives of residents and emergency service personnel at risk.

"Benedykt Nowak was murdered in a callous manner and this was witnessed by his courageous brother who bravely gave evidence in court.

"The investigation team are satisfied that justice has been done in this case. However, this does not detract from the continued grief and suffering that the actions of Mariusz Florowski and Jakub Ostrowski has had on the family of Benedykt Nowak."

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