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Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce accuses Arsene Wenger of trying to use the media to influence referees and make Arsenal players untouchable.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Baby Peter Connelly died after months of abuse Standards at children’s social services at Haringey Council have improved, a snap Ofsted inspection has found.
The north London department had been heavily criticised following the death of baby Peter Connelly in 2007.
The unannounced inspection found morale amongst both management and staff was good, although there were still areas for development.
The report is to form part of a more comprehensive annual review later in the year.
The Ofsted report following the inspection on 16 September concludes cases involving vulnerable children are being rigorously screened, and timely decisions taken following prompt investigations.
The inspectors say managers have a strong commitment to good quality social work, and the pressure on social workers is being closely monitored.
Haringey like, many councils, is putting more children on protection plans, a trend linked to the failings revealed by the Baby Peter case.
But there are still areas for development, including a need to demonstrate that plans for child safety have been fully implemented when cases are closed.
Peter was found dead in his cot at the age of 17 months in August 2007, after months of abuse.
He had been seen by health and social services professionals 60 times in the eight months before he died.
His mother, her partner and a lodger were all jailed for causing or allowing his death.
Sharon Shoesmith, the head of children’s services at Haringey at the time, was sacked as a result of the death.
The Education Secretary at the time, Ed Balls, had ordered her removal in December 2008 after receiving a damning report from Ofsted on child protection in Haringey.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Pope Benedict XVI with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Holyrood House The Queen has paid tribute to the Vatican in helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland.
She made the comments as she welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to Edinburgh on the first day of his four-day state visit to the UK.
The Queen said the UK deeply appreciated “the involvement of the Holy See in the dramatic improvement in the situation in Northern Ireland”.
The Pope said he wanted to hold out the hand of friendship to all the peoples of the United Kingdom.
The pontiff met the Queen and other dignitaries including the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and the first ministers of Scotland and Wales, at Holyrood House.
National anthems were sung outside, before an exchange of gifts in the palace’s state rooms.
Large crowds waving Scottish flags greeted the Pope as he was driven through the centre of Edinburgh to the traditional accompaniment of pipe bands.
He is due to travel to Glasgow for an open-air Mass later on Thursday.
The visit is the first to the UK by a Pontiff since John Paul II in 1982.
Some ticketed events during the four-day trip have not sold out and protests are planned over Vatican policies on birth control, gay rights and abortion.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, said the visit was eagerly anticipated.
“The Catholic tradition in this country is one of actually very profound loyalty to the person of the Holy Father,” he said.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said it will be “a very special four days, not just for our six million Catholics, but for many people of faith right across Britain”.
But the Pope’s visit is controversial among campaigners who say they were sexually abused by Catholic priests as children.
“We are going to have a silent vigil to remember the men and women in those institutions who didn’t make it, who died young and who died without ever reconciling with the Church”
Sally Mulready Irish Women Survivors Support
They have accused Church authorities of a culture of secrecy and of not taking strong enough steps against abusive priests.
In Edinburgh, Presbyterians, secularists, and other groups are planning to protest, but police have said they do not expect large-scale demonstrations.
A 60-strong delegation from the Free Presbyterian Church, including its founder Ian Paisley, now Lord Bannside, are to hold a “peaceful protest” in Edinburgh to show their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit.
In Camden, a traditionally Irish area in London, members of the Irish Women Survivors Support Network in the UK, will hold a silent, candlelit vigil in memory of those who suffered and died in Irish institutions run by religious orders.
“As women, what we have decided to do is to mark the Pope’s arrival in our own way,” said the group’s chair, Sally Mulready.
“That won’t be to go up to Westminster.
“We are going to have a silent vigil to remember the men and women in those institutions who didn’t make it, who died young and who died without ever reconciling with the Church, with the religious orders in particular who inflicted so much barbarity and cruelty and abuse on them.”
On Thursday evening, the Pope will hold an open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow – billed as the largest organised event during the visit.
Several hundred people from Northern Ireland are expected to attend the Mass.
It will be preceded by performances from an 800-strong choir, Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle, and Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus.
The Catholic Church in Scotland had hoped to attract up to 100,000 to the event, but later reduced the capacity to 65,000 after a slow take-up of tickets.
Ticket allocations were reduced for the Pope’s open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow Ticket allocations were reduced for the Pope’s open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow.
A similar mass given by Pope John Paul II 28 years ago attracted some 300,000 followers.
The Pope will fly to London on Thursday night and spend the next two days meeting religious and political leaders, Catholic groups and holding prayers and mass.
On Friday, the Popemobile will parade from Lambeth Bridge to Millbank, and on Saturday, along Horse Guards Road, The Mall and on to Hyde Park.
The Association of Chief Police Officers has estimated the cost of policing the trip at £1.5m.
Lord Patten, the prime minister’s representative for the visit, has said the total cost of the Pope’s stay to the taxpayer will be between £10m and £12m.
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An inquiry is under way to establish how two female prison officers in Oxfordshire became ill amid fears their tea may have been poisoned.
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People gather in Edinburgh to greet Pope Benedict at the start of his visit to the UK.
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The government has announced that it will not be scrapping hospital car parking charges
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Former Essex cricketer Mervyn Westfield is to be charged with conspiracy to defraud over claims he deliberately played badly.
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Downing Street says the visit will be “very special” for people of all faiths The first state visit by a Pope to the UK gets under way later when Benedict XVI flies into Edinburgh.
He will meet the Queen at Holyrood House and parade through the city before an open-air Mass in Glasgow.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to line the streets to catch a glimpse of the Roman Catholic leader.
Some ticketed events during the four-day trip have not sold out and protests are planned over Vatican policies on birth control, gay rights and abortion.
The visit is the first to the UK by a Pontiff since John Paul II in 1982.
Vatican officials say Pope Benedict will highlight the importance of the role of faith for everyone in contemporary Britain, not just Catholics and Anglicans.
Child abuse
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, said the visit was eagerly anticipated.
“The Catholic tradition in this country is one of actually very profound loyalty to the person of the Holy Father,” he said.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said it will be “a very special four days, not just for our six million Catholics, but for many people of faith right across Britain”.
But the Pope’s visit is controversial among campaigners who say they were sexually abused by Catholic priests as children.
They have accused Church authorities of a culture of secrecy and of not taking strong enough steps against abusive priests.
The head of the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission said he was confident a meeting between the Pope and victims would go ahead during the trip.
Bill Kilgallon said he expected a group of less than 10 to meet the Pontiff without anyone else present, and with no restrictions on what was said before or after.
In Edinburgh, Presbyterians, secularists, and other groups are planning to protest, but police have said they do not expect large-scale demonstrations.
On Wednesday, more than 50 public figures added their names to a letter in a newspaper saying the Pope should not be given the “honour” of a UK state visit.
The signatories to the letter in the Guardian include Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman and Stephen Fry.
Meanwhile, one of the Pope’s senior advisers – Cardinal Walter Kasper – has pulled out of the visit after reports in a German magazine that he said arriving at Heathrow airport was like landing in a “Third World country”.
He went on to say the UK was marked by “a new and aggressive atheism”.
The Vatican said the cardinal had not intended “any kind of slight” and had simply pulled out due to illness, while the UK Cabinet Office said his views did not represent those of the Vatican or UK bishops.
Drivers in Edinburgh are being warned to expect delays because of road closures and parking restrictions as the Popemobile joins the St Ninian’s Day parade amid tight security.
On Thursday evening, the Pope will hold an open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow – billed as the largest organised event during the visit.
It will be preceded by performances from an 800-strong choir, Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle, and Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus.
The Catholic Church in Scotland had hoped to attract up to 100,000 to the event, but later reduced the capacity to 65,000 after a slow take-up of tickets.
Ticket allocations were reduced for the Pope’s open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow A similar mass given by Pope John Paul II 28 years ago attracted some 300,000 followers.
Dioceses in England and Wales have also reported thousands of unfilled places for a vigil in London’s Hyde Park on Saturday and a beatification mass in Birmingham on Sunday.
Organisers of the latter ceremony expect 54,000 to 55,000 people to attend the 60,000-capacity event in honour of the 19th century cardinal John Henry Newman.
The Pope flies to the capital on Thursday night and will spend the next two days meeting religious and political leaders, Catholic groups and holding prayers and mass.
On Friday, the Popemobile will parade from Lambeth Bridge to Millbank, and on Saturday, along Horse Guards Road, The Mall and on to Hyde Park.
The Association of Chief Police Officers has estimated the cost of policing the trip at £1.5m.
Lord Patten, the prime minister’s representative for the visit, has said the total cost of the Pope’s stay to the taxpayer will be between £10m and £12m.
The Popemobile is designed to keep the Pontiff safe during public events This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
One in four London council homes is cold, rundown or outdated, government figures show.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Fines of up to £2m, rather than £50,000, may now be imposed on companies that make nuisance silent calls.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Pope will arrive in the UK for his four-day trip on Thursday The first state visit by a Pope to the UK gets under way on Thursday.
Benedict XVI will arrive in Edinburgh where he will meet the Queen at Holyrood House and parade through the city before an open-air Mass in Glasgow.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to line the streets to catch a glimpse of the Roman Catholic leader.
The visit is the first to the UK by a Pontiff since John Paul II in 1982.
Some ticketed events during the four-day trip have not sold out and protests are planned over Vatican policies on birth control, gay rights and abortion.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The fall in retail sales came as firms warned that high street spending could be hit further UK retail sales suffered a surprise fall in August, the first drop since January, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Sales fell 0.5% from July, suggesting that worries about tax rises and budget cuts are starting to hit consumers.
The ONS added to concerns about spending by revising July’s growth figures to 0.8% from 1.1% previously.
The data came as three retailers – John Lewis, Kesa and Kingfisher – said High Street conditions could worsen.
Non-food stores were the worst hit in August, with sales down 0.7%, driven largely by household goods stores.
Food stores saw a decline of 0.5%, according to the ONS.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Iranian TV airs what it says is an interview with Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who faces being stoned to death, in which she denies being lashed for not wearing the veil.
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The renewal of Trident has major financial and political implications A row has erupted after it emerged the government is considering delaying the replacement of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system.
Postponing a decision until after the 2015 general election could save billions in the short term.
But Labour said it could put at risk Britain’s ability to maintain a constant nuclear patrol at sea.
And it accused the coalition of being “divided” on the Trident issue and unable to make up its mind.
The Conservatives strongly support Trident renewal but the Liberal Democrats do not.
The difference of opinion is acknowledged in their coalition agreement, with Lib Dem MPs free to make the case for a cheaper alternative to the estimated £20bn system.
Britain’s nuclear weapons system is made up of four submarines, based at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde, which can deploy Trident ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads.
At least one submarine is always at sea so a continuous deterrent can be maintained.
Treasury Minister Justine Greening told BBC2’s Newsnight that she could not prejudge the outcome of next month’s spending review but there would inevitably be difficult decisions.
Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, a former defence spokesman, warned on BBC Radio 4’s Today that it would be “extremely divisive” if the coalition agreement on Trident were abandoned.
He said he did not think that the delay would happen because it would “disturb the Conservative Party very, very much” and would be the “maddest” decision to take, increasing the long term costs of replacing Trident and undermine the UK’s foreign policy.
But former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell told the same programme it made “no sense” to be committed to a like-for-like replacement of a nuclear weapons system designed for the cold war era.
He said decisions made in the next few weeks for the strategic defence review could not be reversed, so it made sense to look at other alternatives for a future British nuclear weapons system.
Shadow Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth, for Labour, said delaying a decision could risk Britain’s continuous “sea deterrence” and cost industry billions.
“It is hardly leadership to dodge a decision like this, just to avoid a row between coalition partners”
Labour peer Lord HarrisMore comment from around the web on the defence spending review
“The government can’t just simply put off such difficult decisions because they can’t make up their mind.
Their internal squabbles and the divided nature of the coalition on this issue cannot be allowed to affect choices which will have such a huge impact on our future capabilities.
“If the government are really going to take this enormous step we must have a proper debate on it. They cannot make such a decision behind closed doors without proper consultation with the parliament and the public.”
The government is already spending large sums on possible designs for new submarines that would carry the Trident missiles.
The main, final decision to go ahead and build the new submarines was expected to be taken in 2014. This is known in military jargon as the “main gate” decision, the point of no return when ministers sign contracts and start spending billions of pounds.
However, the BBC understands ministers are now looking at pushing this “main gate” decision into the next parliament, in 2015 or beyond.
Any delay would ease the short-term pressure on the defence budget which is facing substantial cuts under the coalition’s spending review.
But critics say delaying spending money on replacing Trident will cost the taxpayer more in the long run as it will risk losing the skills of engineers who might lose their jobs if there is no work for them, and will increase the costs of repairing existing Vanguard submarines which will have to last for longer.
In a report published on Wednesday, MPs urged ministers to clarify how a replacement for Trident – which it is estimated could cost up to £20bn – will be funded.
The Treasury has made clear that the Ministry of Defence will have to cover the cost from its own budget, which is facing reported cuts of between 10% to 20% over the next four years.
Responding to the report, Lib Dem Defence Minister Nick Harvey said there were “big debates” to be had about the cost of renewing Trident – currently the subject of a value for money exercise.
But he insisted that this would not impact on the current spending round – the details of which will be announced next month – as the bulk of expenditure will be after 2015.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Once on the Moon, the lander would unleash a small rover to investigate the surface Europe is pressing ahead with plans to send a sophisticated, unmanned spacecraft to the surface of the Moon.
EADS Astrium has been awarded a 6.5m-euro contract by the European Space Agency (Esa) to do further detailed design work on the mission.
The 700-800kg robot would be aimed at the lunar south pole, using automated systems to guide itself into a gentle, precision landing.
Once down, it would release a small rover to trundle across the surface.
“The lander will have a set of scientific instruments onboard but the science will be geared towards human exploration,” said Simonetta Di Pippo, the director of human spaceflight at Esa.
“We will be looking for minerals and, hopefully, water in the soil, to see if we can prepare for a sustainable presence on the surface of the Moon,” she told BBC News.
Recent spacecraft observations have indicated that some polar craters on the Moon probably hide vast reserves of ice deep in their shadows.
The new study is being led by the German division of EADS Astrium.
Michael Menking from the company observed: “This is an important technology project. For sure, it’s dedicated to the Moon but if you can make a soft, precision landing on the lunar surface you can also do it on other planetary bodies as well.”
The feasibility work conducted in industry, known as a Phase B1 study, will elaborate the lander’s key specifications, and initiate some component development and testing.
These investigations will inform the fully costed mission proposal (likely to come out at several hundred million euros), which will go before Europe’s space ministers for final approval in 2012.
If the politicians like the concept and decide to fund it, the robot could leave Earth on a Soyuz rocket before the decade’s end.
The mission would build upon the experience gained from Europe’s highly successful Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), which resupplies the International Space Station (ISS).
Once in orbit, this 20-tonne freighter is capable of finding its own way to the platform using advanced navigation and sensor technologies.
In a similar vein, the Moon lander would have to take itself to a specific location, scan the area for slopes and boulders, and then pick out a safe place to put down.
“You need to have hazard-avoidance,” said Bruno Gardini, who heads the Esa department in which the lunar lander project is embedded.
“During the descent, you have to keep targeting two or three different landing sites, and so you have to keep the algorithm available which is a very heavy load on the onboard processor. You need to be ready to switch from one site to another to select the one that has lowest risk.”
The spacecraft would be targeted at the lunar south pole because it has locations that enjoy extended sunlight. This is necessary because Europe does not possess the radioisotope space technology capable of generating the power and heat needed by robots to survive long periods of darkness.
One possible landing site already under discussion is a ridge close to Shackleton Crater where the Sun stays above the horizon for months on end. Solar panel and battery technology should be sufficient to sustain the robot at such a location.
Europe’s ATV has demonstrated a high degree of automation at the space station “Depending on the illumination pattern, we would hope to have a mission lasting several months, up to half a year,” explained Richard Fisackerly from Esa’s project team.
“The patterns we’re looking at actually don’t consider continuous illumination, but we should be able to tolerate very short periods of darkness which may be brought about by obstacles on the horizon.”
As well as looking for any local resources that could be used by future human explorers, the lander’s instruments would also assess the lunar environment to understand the risks it could pose to astronauts, said Esa project team-member James Carpenter.
“These have been identified as radiation and its effects on human physiology; and the lunar dust environment – both in terms of the physics of the behaviour of the lunar dust and the way it will interact with the systems that are on the surface, but also in terms of the potential health effects of lunar dust when it comes into contact with humans,” he told BBC News.
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