Category: news

Swansea reach the Championship play-off final after a second-leg home win over Nottingham Forest.

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Correspondence from Downing Street officials will no longer be signed with fake names, David Cameron has said.

The policy change follows a complaint from Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman after he received a letter signed by “Mrs E Adams”, only to be told it was a computer-generated pseudonym.

The use of false names on letters from No 10 began in 2005 in response to a security threat.

But the prime minister said this would “no longer” be the case.

In the Commons last week, Sir Gerald revealed how he had written to Mr Cameron at the request of a constituent and received a reply from 10 Downing Street signed “Mrs E Adams, direct communications unit”.

In a written reply, the prime minister said: “Correspondence was handled under arrangements put in place in 2005 when on security advice, following an incident in which a member of staff was personally targeted and threatened, members of staff were advised not to use their names.

“After review this approach will no longer be used.”

A Downing Street spokesman said it had not yet been decided how letters from staff would be signed off in future.

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US tycoon Donald Trump says he will not be running for the US presidency in 2012, ending weeks of speculation.

Mr Trump said he was not ready to leave the private sector and that his ultimate passion remained in business.

“This decision does not come easily or without regret,” he said in a brief statement.

“I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election,” Mr Trump added.

The statement went on to say: “I have spent the past several months unofficially campaigning and recognize that running for public office cannot be done half heartedly.

“Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector.”

Mr Trump, who hosts the reality television programme Celebrity Apprentice, made his announcement on Monday as the NBC television network rolled out its lineup of forthcoming shows.

Prior to the announcement, NBC said it would bring back the programme with a different host if Mr Trump ran for president.

The New York businessman has been flirting with a presidential bid for weeks, even travelling to early primary states like New Hampshire.

Last month, Mr Trump demanded that President Barack Obama release copies of his birth certificate, renewing rumours that Mr Obama was not born in the US.

The president ultimately released the certificate, and Mr Trump took credit for forcing Mr Obama’s hand.

Mr Trump’s news comes only days after Mike Huckabee, a Republican and former governor of the US state of Arkansas, announced he would not seek the Republican nomination for the presidency.

Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich and and Texas Congressman Ron Paul both announced their intention to run last week.

Other likely Republican 2012 candidates include former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former Utah Governor and US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Of those, only Mr Romney and Mr Pawlenty have taken the first official step towards a candidacy, by forming exploratory committees to test the waters and begin raising money.

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Pop music legend Sir Elton John has held Downing Street talks with Prime Minister David Cameron about the work of his Aids foundation.

The singer, known for works including Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Daniel, also spoke to International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell.

Since 1992, the Elton John Aids Foundation has raised more than £130m.

It runs prevention programmes and campaigns against stigma and discrimination surrounding the illness.

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President Trump had such a ring to it, conjuring images of a blunt, irascible leader. A joy to headline writers: The Last Trump. Diamonds are Trump’s.

But we can no longer even fantasise about Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

The lunatic fringe will not be represented in the Republican race. I am, of course, talking about his hair, not his politics.

Mr Trump has announced he is not going to be standing as a Republican candidate for president.

It’s not because the billionaire property developer-turned-TV star thought he was going to lose, mind you.

He says in his statement: “I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election. I have spent the past several months unofficially campaigning and recognize that running for public office cannot be done half heartedly. Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector.”

Cynics had said all along that this was all about promoting his TV show Celebrity Apprentice.

But while his poll ratings were high, his credibility was not.

Commentators scorned his remarks about the US owning Iraqi oil, how he would dictate to China and above all his suggestions that questioning whether Mr Obama was born on US soil was a legitimate subject for political debate.

It did, of course, force the White House into issuing the president’s full birth certificate but it didn’t make him more palatable.

Then there was the hair.

He didn’t enjoy the mockery dumped on him during the White House Correspondent’s Association dinner and more importantly, he didn’t seem to expect it.

Politicians develop a tough hide. They know their serious propositions and positions will be ignored by a media that favours highlighting foibles and folly.

At any rate he’s out. The field is beginning to clear. The Donald’s declaration of non-intent follows Mike Huckabee’s at the weekend.

The former Arkansas governor portrayed it as a deeply personal decision, taken after much praying.

“When I am with people encouraging me to run, it’s easy to feel the strength of their partnership and commitment to help me to the finish line,” Mr Huckabee said.

“Only when I was alone, in quiet and reflective moments did I have not only clarity, but an inexplicable inner peace – a peace that exceeds human understanding. All the factors say go, but my heart says no. And that is the decision I have made and in it have finally found resolution.”

Both men can now stand back and both will have another moment of glory when they anoint someone who does stay in the narrowing race.

We know about Newt. Ron Paul is in.

We are waiting to hear officially from Jon Huntsman, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney, but I’ve no doubt they’ll run. Mitch Daniels is less of a certainty.

Who will be next to pull their hat out of the ring. Sarah Palin perhaps?

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Former Metropolitan Police commander Ali Dizaei says he hopes to return to the force one day after winning an appeal against charges of misconduct and corruption.

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Defence Secretary Liam Fox has announced to MPs details of the UK’s military covenant.

He said that as part of the measures, seriously-injured veterans would have access to three cycles of IVF.

He also said that a veterans’ card allowing discounts and privileges was being launched, and that a new fund would support state schools with large numbers of service children.

And council tax relief for overseas personnel is rising from 25% to 50%.

The IVF treatment would be available to veterans who had suffered serious genital injuries.

The announcement comes as the Ministry of Defence said it was seeking to find more savings from the armed forces in the next financial year.

Dr Fox told the House of Commons that the obligation owed by the nation to its servicemen and women was enormous.

He added: “In the current financial climate we are not able to do as much to honour that obligation, nor to do it as quickly as we would like. But we can make clear the road on which we are embarked.”

Dr Fox also said that in publishing a new version of the Armed Forces Covenant, written on a tri-service basis for the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, a careful balancing act had to be made.

“On one hand we don’t want to see the chain of command undermined or the military permanently involved in human-rights cases in the European courts,” he said.

“On the other we must ensure that the legitimate aspirations of the wider service community, the armed forces charities and the British public, for our armed forces are met.

“We believe that a sensible way forward, that will give the right kind of legal basis to the Armed Forces Covenant for the first time in our history, is to enshrine the principles in law, provide a regular review of the policies that will make them a reality, ensure that parliament has a chance to scrutinise this review through the annual report, and to ensure that the report itself is widely informed, consultative and transparent.”

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy welcomed the announcement, but accused the Cabinet of backtracking on the issue, saying it had previously opposed the idea of a military covenant.

He said: “The secretary of state finds himself in a peculiar position today of announcing a policy that he recently voted against.

“In February, I and my colleagues tabled an opposition day debate which called for, and I quote, ‘establishing in law the definition of a military covenant, in so doing fulfilling the prime minister’s pledge’.

“The secretary of state, his front bench and the entire Cabinet voted against it.”

Meanwhile, a three-month study into further potential MoD cuts, reporting in July, will consider which personnel and equipment programmes could be cut.

Last October’s strategic defence and security review set out plans to scrap HMS Ark Royal and the Harrier fleet and cut 42,000 forces and civilian jobs.

The MoD said it was assessing whether spending assumptions made in the past were still affordable.

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The Queen will make the first ever visit by a British monarch to the Irish Republic amid concern that dissident republicans might try to cause trouble

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International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn appears in court in New York to face charges that he tried to rape a hotel maid.

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A bomb warning has been received relating to central London, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.

The force said the threat did not provide specifics about location or time.

The Mall and other central London streets were closed on Monday morning although a link has not been confirmed.

The warning is thought to be related to Irish dissident republicans but the threat level for Northern Ireland-related terrorism has not been changed.

The BBC understands the police received a coded bomb warning.

The Met Police statement said: “All officers have been advised to be a highly vigilant to ensure the safety of London.”

It told the public to continue going about their business but to be vigilant.

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said: “My understanding is that this may have come because of a coded warning, which is why there is more concern about it than normal. Threats come in and out all the time.

“But if it was a specific code word warning, that would suggest something more serious and that would be why we have had this alert.”

He added it was significant that the threat level from dissident Irish terrorism had not been raised.

“Officials I have spoken to are trying to stress that it is not as if they have concrete intelligence of a specific attack at a particular time, or that would have gone up high in terms of the threat.”

Earlier on Monday, The Mall and Carlton House Terrace were closed after a disturbed manhole cover sparked an alert.

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they are investigating a break-in at Carlton Gardens but could not confirm whether or not the incident was linked to the closure.

The building involved is believed to be 2 Carlton Gardens, which houses the Institute for Government think-tank.

That is adjacent to the foreign secretary’s residence, where William Hague is believed to have been at the time.

BBC pictures from the scene show a van of search dogs, and the Met’s underwater and confined spaces search team.

The current threat level from international terrorism for the UK is assessed as severe.

The threat level for Northern Ireland-related terrorism is set separately for Northern Ireland and Great Britain. In Northern Ireland it is severe and in Great Britain substantial.

Severe means that a terrorist attack is highly likely, substantial that an attack is a strong possibility.

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A man admits helping gunman Raoul Moat by hiding evidence.

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Defence Secretary Liam Fox has announced details of how the military covenant will help service personnel and their families.

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