Hain rebuked over coverage claim

Justine Thornton and Ed MilibandEd Miliband and fiancee Justine Thornton were not concerned about appearing on camera, Labour said
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Shadow minister Peter Hain has been slapped down by his own party for allegedly trying to make a political row out of the royal wedding.

Mr Hain complained that Labour leader Ed Miliband had been snubbed by BBC television coverage of the wedding in Westminster Abbey.

He said the cameras had focused on PM David Cameron and deputy PM Nick Clegg.

A senior Labour source said getting on camera was “the last thing” Mr Miliband and his fiancee were concerned about.

Mr Hain, the shadow Welsh secretary, made his comments on Twitter, writing: “Loads of TV coverage of Cameron and Clegg at wedding but none of Ed. BBC airbrushing Labour like the palace?”

Some Labour MPs had expressed anger at the palace’s decision not to invite former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to the wedding, when their Conservative predecessors Margaret Thatcher and John Major were both on the guest list.

Mr Hain’s tweet sparked a flurry of negative comments, prompting him to post a second message: “Congratulations to the happy couple – a great occasion.”

But his complaint was echoed by a second Labour MP, Sharon Hodgson, who said in her own online message: “I never saw Ed & Justine once and watched from 9am! Shameful BBC!”.

A Labour source insisted the party did not share the MPs’ concern about the coverage for Mr Miliband and his fiancee Justine Thornton, who are due to get married themselves later this month.

The source said: “The last thing Ed and Justine are worried about is getting on television on William and Kate’s big day. It should just be about them.

“No-one should be trying to make a political row on this day of celebration.”

Ms Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland South, also criticised the prime minister’s wife, Samantha Cameron, for not wearing a hat for the ceremony.

“Was Sam Cam only woman without a hat/fascinator? She looked way too casual in just a dress – as if off to a picnic,” she tweeted.

Quizzed about his wife’s decision not to wear a hat, Mr Cameron, who is hosting a street party in Downing Street, said she was “wearing something in her hair,” but joked: “Don’t test me on that sort of thing”.

He said Samantha “looked amazing as she always does” and he said it felt “life a fairytale to be inside Westminster Abbey” for the royal wedding.

“It was very romantic and moving to be there. They obviously love each other very much.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Thousands celebrate royal wedding

The crowd at Leeds Castle Leeds Castle is among places where crowds watched the wedding on a big screen

Tens of thousands of people are celebrating the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Large crowds gathered outside Westminster Abbey, where the couple exchanged wedding vows.

Parties are taking place across England, where councils handled more than 5,000 requests for road closures.

Prince William has been made the Duke of Cambridge and his new wife the Duchess of Cambridge.

The wedding was broadcast live on big screens in various cities and towns.

The Met Office said there was a risk of heavy showers developing later on in the day in London.

Thousands of people camped out overnight along the procession route the couple took to Buckingham Palace.

The couple used an open-topped 1902 State Landau carriage for the procession after the service, the same used by the prince’s parents in 1981.

Buckingham Palace earlier announced the titles given to the couple by the Queen on their marriage.

Prince William will also take the titles Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.

Hertfordshire topped the list of street party requests with 298 submitted to the council for road closures. Surrey was second with 205, the Local Government Association revealed last week.

But thousands of other parties being held in homes, pubs and in gardens.

A day of celebrations is being held in Kate Middleton’s home village of Bucklebury in Berkshire.

The village green is dotted with marquees and there has already been Morris dancing to celebrate the occasion.

And thousands of revellers are at a three-day event at Clapham Common, which has a giant television and entertainment.

Organisers also created a “glamping” zone for luxury campers with 18ft (5.4m) teepees available equipped with sheepskin rugs and tables.

The wedding and procession to Buckingham Palace is being shown on big screens around the country. In Southampton city centre people have been encouraged to dress in patriotic red, white and blue for the occasion.

Plymouth city centre’s piazza has been transformed into a street party, while hundreds of revellers are holding a fancy dress party on the restored £39m Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

One patriot in Merseyside vowed to party on despite the theft of 50 royal flags from his home.

Women dressed as brides at Hyde Park Corner Many people have dressed up for the occasion

Bill Jenkins from Wavertree, Liverpool, said: “We’re having a party for friends and family and like all true patriotic British people we’re going to have a Chinese takeaway.”

Meanwhile, a Manchester artist made his own tribute with a portrait of the couple made from sweets.

Artist Mark Kennedy made it out of hundreds of the sweets but said making the tribute was not without its challenges.

“It was very difficult as some glues melted the sweets,” he said.

Blackpool FC boss Ian Holloway, who met the prince when he watched a Seasiders’ match at Bloomfield Road earlier in the Premier League season, had some words of advice for the royal couple.

“Be good to each other, because that helps,” he said. Holloway added he would be missing the wedding because he would be taking a training session ahead of Saturday’s home match against Stoke.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Family tribute to mother and girl

Location mapThe collision closed the road between Gilwern and Brynmawr
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The mother of a six-year-old girl killed in a road crash on the A465 Heads of the Valleys road in south Wales has now also died.

Stephanie Curtis, 35, from Blaenau Gwent, was driving a blue Peugeot which was in collision with a silver Mercedes on Thursday.

Ffion Elizabeth Merrifield died after the crash while her mother died later in hospital.

Two women in the Mercedes both suffered minor injuries.

The crash happened on the eastbound carriageway between Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent and Gilwern, Monmouthshire at about 1100 BST.

Ms Curtis died of her injuries at the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff.

The mother and daughter were from the Nantyglo area of Blaenau Gwent.

All involved in the crash were initially taken to Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny.

Gwent Police said the Mercedes was being driven by a 69-year-old from Gilwern. Both she and her passenger are still in hospital.

The A465 was closed in both directions between Gilwern and Conoco roundabout at Brynmawr while emergency services were in attendance.

Gwent Police is investigating the collision and anyone who may have witnessed the collision is asked to contact the force’s collision investigation unit on 01633 642404 or by dialling 101.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Man held for royal protest plan

Charlie VeitchCharlie Veitch said he was planning to protest against the royal wedding

A campaigner has been arrested at a house in Cambridge a day before he planned to protest against the royal wedding in London.

Charlie Veitch was arrested at about 1700 BST on Thursday on suspicion of “conspiracy to cause a public nuisance”.

His arrest sparked a freedom of speech demonstration outside Parkside Police Station, Cambridge, where he was held.

Mr Veitch uses a megaphone in protests and runs the Love Police website.

On Friday, the Metropolitan Police confirmed Mr Veitch was now in custody in London.

Mr Veitch’s girlfriend Silkie Carlo, 21, of Cambridge, said she was with her partner when police arrested him.

“It’s quite outrageous”

Silkie Carlo Arrested man’s girlfriend

“I am very concerned that not only has somebody been arrested on an issue of free speech, and arrested for something he might say, he’s been held for almost 24 hours,” she told the BBC News website.

“It’s quite outrageous.

“I know some people worry about anarchists but police know that Charlie uses a megaphone. There’s a strong non-violent tradition of anarchism.”

Freedom of speech activist Terri Oaks, who lives in Cambridge and attended the demonstration outside Parkside, said he was appalled at such a lack of “respect for the right to protest”.

Mr Veitch said he was concerned at anarchists being arrested for offences that had not taken place.

He said on his website that he planned a protest to disrupt the royal wedding.

He said he had “no issue with two young people in love getting married” but was against the huge cost of celebrations.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said Mr Veitch was still in custody after being arrested on suspicion of “conspiracy to cause a public nuisance and breach of the peace”.

He said he could not comment on the concerns raised by Mr Veitch’s girlfriend.

Cambridgeshire Police had said it could not confirm or deny Mr Veitch had been arrested.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Egyptian ferry tragedy ‘kills 17’

Breaking news

At least 19 people have died, and another 20 are missing, after a ferry capsized on the Nile River in southern Egypt, state media reports.

The ferry reportedly overturned in Bani Suwayf province, 70 miles (110 km) south of Cairo.

The official Mena news agency said 43 had died.

Rescuers are reported to be searching for survivors.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Device found in Maghera ‘viable’

Police in Maghera have described a suspicious object found under a van as a “viable device.”

It was found lying on the ground beneath the vehicle in the Willow Glynn area on Friday morning.

Nearby residents have been moved from their homes.

Army bomb experts have been called to the scene.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Hospitals face tougher savings

Hospital staffHospitals in England face much tougher efficiency savings than previously thought
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The regulator of NHS foundation trusts in England has warned hospitals must make even bigger efficiency savings than previously thought.

The Department of Health has already said it wants efficiency savings of 4% for each of the next five years.

But the regulator Monitor says it expects savings will be more in the order of 6% to 7%.

Monitor says higher than expected inflation and tougher financial penalties for hospitals are to blame.

As part of the government’s reforms of the NHS in England every hospital is expected to become a foundation trust.

But to do that they must satisfy the financial regulator they can balance their books.

Around 85 hospitals and mental health trusts have yet to achieve foundation status, but now Monitor has told them the bar is being raised even higher.

In December the Department of Health said it was looking for efficiency savings of 4% for each of the next five years.

But in a letter to foundation trust applicants, Monitor says that higher than expected inflation, plus tough financial penalties for things like emergency re-admissions after surgery, mean savings will need to be between 6% and 7%.

In a statement the regulator said the changes to the economic climate mean all trusts will need to make savings.

“However, we should be clear that these assumptions are a reflection of the risks in the external environment; they are not a directive to make cuts.

“I can see a hospital doing this for one or two years, but not five years. It’s like the unit cost of a hip operation, around £6,000, has got to decrease by 37%”

John Appleby Chief Economist, The King’s Fund

“Trusts will need to take account of the individual circumstances that exist within their local health economy, which could mean that they will need to take either a more optimistic or pessimistic approach than the one set out by Monitor.

“It is essential that the quality of patient services does not suffer as a result cost-cutting measures.”

In a statement the Department of Health said Monitor’s assessment would be “challenging” for the NHS but pointed out that it was the “more pessimistic” of two scenarios set out by the regulator.

“The NHS is in a strong financial position. We are investing an extra £11.5 billion into the NHS by 2014-15.

“But higher costs and an ageing population mean that the NHS must meet the highest possible financial standards and find savings to reinvest into patient care.

“Monitor’s assessment of 6% to 7% is its ‘downside case’, meaning it is more pessimistic. But it is right that Monitor’s assessments are challenging – we want all hospitals to be able to meet Monitor’s standards and show that they can provide sustainable, high quality and efficient services for their patients.”

These figures matter not just because they show the financial pressures on the health system and in particular on hospitals.

They are also the benchmark which Monitor will use to judge whether a hospital will be granted foundation status.

And while some health economists had questioned whether hospitals could make year on year savings of 4%, these new figures look much tougher.

John Appleby, chief economist at the health think tank the King’s Fund, said the savings are a big increase.

“I can see a hospital doing this for one or two years, but not five years.

“It’s like the unit cost of a hip operation, around £6,000, has got to decrease by 37%. How?”

Hospitals in England have until April 2014 to achieve foundation trust status.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

New disturbances in Tesco protest

Damaged Tesco storeThe Tesco Express store in Stokes Croft was damaged during previous protests
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A number of police officers have been injured after further demonstrations against a Tesco store in the Stokes Croft area of Bristol turned violent.

Officers had to call for back-up when bottles were thrown during what had been a peaceful protest in Cheltenham Road, Avon and Somerset Police said.

A spokeswoman said the event began at about 2030 BST on Thursday but did not turn violent until about 0100 BST.

“A number of officers have been injured,” she confirmed.

It is understood that, so far, no arrests have been made as officers try to “keep the trouble under control”, the spokeswoman said.

The majority of people had been carrying out the protest peacefully, she said, but a “small minority have been trying to cause trouble”.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.