Take That fans crash ticket sites

Take That and Robbie WilliamsThe group announced an initial run of 13 UK dates

Ticket websites have crashed as fans rush to buy tickets to see Take That and Robbie Williams perform together for the first time in 16 years.

Tickets for the reformed group’s UK stadium dates went on sale at 0900 BST.

But sites including Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Ticketline and The Ticket Factory all buckled under the strain.

Police have warned fans not to buy from unofficial agencies, whom they said may not fulfil orders and may use personal details in identity theft.

Hundreds of fans have also been queuing at venue box offices and trying to get through to phone hotlines.

A Take That spokesperson urged fans to keep trying.

“Due to totally unprecedented demand this morning, all ticket agents have struggled to cope with the number of people logging on to try and buy Take That tickets,” a statement said.

“The technology available has not been able to keep up with demand. However all ticket agents are confident they will be able to process all enquiries so are asking fans to keep trying.”

“Why do sites not prepare for mornings like this?”

Ailbhe Maher Take That fan, via Twitter

The group have announced initial dates in Sunderland, Manchester, Cardiff, Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham and London in May, June and July. They will also take the show across Europe.

The Ticket Factory website returned an error message saying there were “too many concurrent users”, while Ticketmaster.co.uk said: “Service Unavailable.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of tickets appeared on eBay and other secondary websites at inflated prices.

Fans took to Twitter to vent their anger at the difficulties getting onto official ticket sites.

“Why do sites not prepare for mornings like this?” wrote Ailbhe Maher. “So annoying! Still no tickets. How long do you keep trying?”

Another fan, Ellen Hawksworth, wrote: “Two computers, a phone and still no luck.

“Annoys me that people are selling them on eBay when people who want to go can’t get them.”

The official agencies are Gigs and Tours, The Ticket Factory, Ticketline and Ticketmaster. Gigs In Scotland is selling tickets for Hampden Park in Glasgow, Event Travel is offering hotal packages and Mark Butler is selling VIP tickets.

The band’s last UK tour – without Williams – was seen by a record-breaking one million people in 2009.

Williams rejoined the group this summer. Their new album, Progress, will be released next month.

Robbie Williams and Gary BarlowRobbie Williams and Gary Barlow recently sang together at the Help For Heroes concert

Earlier this week, Williams said the gigs would include a mixture of his solo material and the band’s hits.

“There’s going to be a bit for everybody,” he told a press conference in London.

“I’m going to be doing a bit, the lads are going to be doing a bit, then we’re all going to be doing a bit.”

Gary Barlow added: “Some fans might be coming just to see Rob, some fans might be coming to see the four of us, some fans will be coming to see the five of us.

“On this night, they’ll get to see us all doing our individual bits.”

Last summer Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald performed 20 stadium concerts.

Their Circus tour was named the biggest ever staged in the UK and Ireland, beating tours by U2 and Michael Jackson.

Williams has also been one of the country’s most popular live acts since leaving the group in 1995.

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EU clinches pact to defend euro

Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker (left) with UK Prime Minister David Cameron at summit, 28 Oct 10Mr Cameron (right) lobbied hard to put the EU budget issue on the agenda

EU leaders say tough new budget rules agreed at their summit in Brussels will protect the euro from a future Greek-style debt crisis.

The EU “sealed a solid pact to strengthen the euro,” said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

A permanent fund will be set up to bolster the euro in times of crisis, and the EU will have extra powers of scrutiny over national budgets.

A 2.9% limit on the EU budget increase was also agreed, under UK pressure.

But tough negotiations are expected with the European Parliament, which voted for a 5.9% rise. If no deal is reached by mid-November the 2011 budget will be frozen at the 2010 level.

EU officials said the eurozone had almost collapsed during the Greek debt crisis in May because it lacked a rescue mechanism.

EU CRISIS MECHANISMPermanent mechanism to replace temporary emergency fund which expires in 2013Tighter EU surveillance of all 27 national budgetsCumulative sanctions, including fines, for countries that exceed EU’s agreed deficit or debt limitsSanctions apply to 25 countries – either in eurozone or planning to join (so UK and Denmark not included)Part of Lisbon Treaty to be changed to make mechanism legally watertightQ&A: EU crisis mechanism EU budget: Where does your money go?

Germany wants limited changes to the EU’s Lisbon Treaty to reinforce the changes, but is facing resistance from other countries.

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister David Cameron won backing for his battle against a 5.9% rise in the EU budget.

Germany and France were among 10 nations supporting Mr Cameron’s attempt to limit the budget increase to 2.9% – a rise that would still cost UK taxpayers roughly £435m (500m euros).

“Now we have agreed that the EU budget must reflect what we’re doing in our own countries,” Mr Cameron said, describing the deal as “incredibly important”.

The BBC’s Jonty Bloom, in Brussels, says the new rules are designed to force a country to put its house in order long before its economic problems threaten the eurozone.

Under the rules, EU officials will warn governments about property and speculative bubbles, and will be able to impose stringent fines on countries that borrow and spend too much.

The permanent crisis fund will replace a temporary one, worth 440bn euros, created earlier this year to bail out Greece and support the euro.

“It would be very difficult if not impossible for Britain to change the EU Council’s position”

Gavin Hewitt BBC Europe EditorCameron’s EU budget battleUK wins allies in EU budget spat

But Germany has argued that the Lisbon Treaty will have to be amended to make the emergency fund permanent and legally watertight.

The current treaty contains a clause banning members from bailing each other out.

“Everybody agreed that there must be a permanent crisis mechanism, and everybody agreed that this must be formed by the member states,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“Everybody therefore agreed that this will require a limited treaty change.”

It took almost a decade of hard negotiations and two referendums in the Republic of Ireland to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, and many states are reluctant to make a move which could trigger a similar process.

The EU Constitution – the treaty’s ill-fated forerunner – was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands.

Mr Van Rompuy has been tasked with finding out whether the fund can be set up without each of the 27 member states having to ratify the treaty all over again.

The UK says a mechanism to ensure stability in the eurozone is desirable – and that the planned sanctions would not apply to the UK.

But all 27 member states’ budgets will come under close scrutiny in a “peer review” process.

There would be escalating sanctions on countries which overshot the maximum debt level allowed under the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), which is 60% of GDP.

Sanctions would kick in earlier than is the case under the current SGP, enabling the EU to take preventive action, for example against a country with an unsustainable housing bubble, or with mounting debt that undermines its competitiveness.

EU budget graphic

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Head teacher fined over roof fall

John SummerfieldJohn Summerfield was described as a “caring teacher”

A head teacher has been fined £20,000 for failing to ensure the safety of his students after one of them fell through a school roof on Merseyside.

John Summerfield led a group of “slightly inebriated” sixth-formers on to the roof of Sacred Heart Catholic College in Crosby in August 2008, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Student Joel Murray, 18, fell through a skylight and fractured his skull.

Summerfield, 65, was convicted of breaching the Health and Safety Act.

He was also ordered to pay costs of £22,708.

The head teacher had taken a group of 10 to 12 students on the roof to show them renovation work during an A-levels result party.

He warned the pupils to avoid the skylight but Mr Murray stepped on it, fell through and landed in the corridor 8ft (2.5m) below.

‘Moment of folly’

As well as fracturing his skull, Mr Murray also broke his ribs, perforated an eardrum and suffered permanent damage to his eye.

Kevin Donnelly, prosecuting, said: “Nobody was drunk but it is possible they were slightly affected by drink, possibly slightly inebriated.

“The very act of taking the students to that area was a breach of his duty of care.

“He failed to give appropriate consideration to the risks involved.”

Judge Nigel Gilmour QC, sentencing, said Summerfield’s actions were a “moment of folly” and that he “didn’t really think of the safety aspects of taking them on the roof”.

He added that it was “an isolated incident in an otherwise distinguished career”.

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Maldives vows wedding crackdown

Kurumba island, Maldives (file image)People in the Maldives were reported to be furious at the possible damage to their reputation

The Maldives’ leader has promised strict new guidelines on conducting wedding ceremonies for tourists, after a couple renewing vows were abused.

All tourist hotels will be required to follow the rules to be issued shortly, President Mohamed Nasheed said in his weekly radio address.

He described the behaviour of those involved as “absolutely disgraceful”.

Police have reportedly detained a celebrant who called the foreign couple “infidels” during a luxury ceremony.

Maldivian police spokesman Ahmed Shiyam told AFP news agency that the celebrant had been detained with another hotel employee.

Footage of the ceremony was posted on YouTube and has sparked concerns for the Indian Ocean island’s tourism-dependent economy.

Instead of words of blessing, the celebrant heaps taunts and insults in the local language on the hapless couple.

The hotel at the Vilu Reef resort has apologised for the “unforgivable conduct” of its staff.

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Teenage MPs take over Commons

John Bercow in the CommonsJohn Bercow presided over the first Youth Parliament meeting in the Commons in 2009

Plans to increase tuition fees are to face scrutiny in the Commons – but from youngsters hoping to go to university rather than MPs.

Members of the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) will sit on the famous green benches for a second year running.

More than 300 young people will take part in the event to be chaired by Commons Speaker John Bercow.

The debate on fees follows recommendations in the Browne review that the current cap be lifted.

The youngsters, known as MYPs – Members of the Youth Parliament – will vote on a motion “should university tuition fees rise?”.

THE UK YOUTH PARLIAMENTThere are 600 MYPs aged 11 to 18Elections are held annually throughout the UKIn the past two years one million young people have voted in Youth Parliament electionsThe debate will be shown on BBC Parliament at 16.30 BST

Other topics to be debated will be; sex education in schools, raising the school leaving age to 18, withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and reducing fares on public transport.

The 11 to 18-year-olds were given permission to sit in the chamber for the first time last year.

During their first sitting on October 30, 2009, more than 100 MYPs spoke.

Last year they debated university fees, youth crime, public transport, the voting age, jobs and the economy.

Mr Bercow introduced the session with a speech on the importance of democracy – and praised the fact that the Youth Parliament was far more ethnically diverse and had more female members than the House of Commons.

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Fines threat over child benefit

A family looking out to seaThe Treasury plans to write to the UK’s four million higher rate taxpayers

Higher rate taxpayers could be fined if they fail to declare their partner receives child benefit.

The Treasury has confirmed that “penalties” would be issued in cases of non-disclosure of earnings.

The benefit is to be stopped from 2013 if at least one parent earns over £44,000, but some experts have questioned whether this is workable.

They say the tax system traditionally looks at individuals rather than couples, making administration harder.

In many cases, the father is the higher rate tax payer, but the mother receives the benefit.

‘Complex and intrusive’

That makes it much harder to administer – because couples do not always know about each other’s finances, and if they split up things become even more complicated.

The government plans to write to all four million higher rate taxpayers asking them whether their household gets child benefit.

Those who fail to answer or do not tell the truth could be fined.

The Treasury says legislation will be brought forward to implement the change, but critics say this could create a much more complex and intrusive tax and benefit system.

Chancellor George Osborne announced the changes earlier this month in a move designed to save £2bn a year.

But critics, including Labour, seized on the “unfairness” of the reforms for stay-at-home mothers.

A couple who are both working can earn more than £80,000 between them and still claim benefit, while those relying on a single income just above the higher tax rate will miss out.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Yvette Cooper said the government’s policy was “unravelling” – a claim Treasury sources have dismissed as “nonsense”.

A report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday claimed the Treasury was struggling to find ways to make the the plan work

Impact of child benefit cutTax rate Annual income Benefit Keep or cut?Lower

£43,875 or less
£1,752.4

Higher

£43,876 or more
0

2x Lower

£87,750(2 x 43,875)
£1,752.4

1x Lower1x Higher

£87,751(43,875 + 43,876)
0

Note: higher rate tax begins after earning £43,875 (£37,400 + personal allowance of £6,475)

Source: HMRC

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7/7 firefighters were ‘hostile’

The devastated carriage at AldgateSeven victims were killed by a suicide bomber at Aldgate in 2005

Firefighters at the Aldgate terrorist bombing were “hostile” and “quite upset”, the 7/7 inquests have heard.

Paramedic Anthony Cumner was in the first ambulance to arrive at the Tube station after the 7 July 2005 attack.

He told the hearings that firefighters “did not understand the role” of the initial ambulance which was to report the situation back to the control room.

The inquests are into the deaths of 52 people who were killed by suicide bombers on three Tube trains and a bus.

Mr Cumner said the firefighters were “demanding” that he take some of the injured patients to hospital.

He told the hearings that he tried to explain that this was not his role, and that the firefighters were “not helpful.”

Shehzad Tanweer, one of the four bombers who carried out the London attacks, blew himself up at Aldgate station, killing seven people.

The inquests have heard that a group of firefighters refused to enter a tunnel at Aldgate because of health and safety concerns.

Police Inspector Robert Munn said there was a delay as they tried to confirm the electricity had been switched off.

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Security review for police staff

More than 100 civilian workers at police stations in Northern Ireland have been told to review their personal security.

The advice was issued after they received work-related correspondence with the name of their PSNI station on the envelope.

Some of the workers are concerned that their details could fall into the hands of dissident republicans.

The staff work at several stations across Northern Ireland.

Sodexo, the company which employs the civilian workers, has apologised.

The staff received a letter from the managing director of Sodexo which said the company was “cognisant” of the security risk in Northern Ireland and was never complacent with regard to employees’ safety.

He also confirmed that the error was being fully investigated and that procedures will be put in place to ensure it does not happen again.

In a statement issued to the BBC on Friday, Sodexo said: “This happened two weeks ago and an investigation is underway.

“We have met with our client the PSNI, who is fully aware of the situation, and we will report back to the client in full.

“Procedures will be put in place to ensure that this does not happen again.

“The safety and well-being of our employees is of paramount importance to us and we immediately contacted or spoke to the individuals concerned and apologised unreservedly for the error.”

Since the error, those involved have been given a security briefing by the police on how to improve their personal safety.

During the Troubles, civilian workers were targeted by the Provisional IRA and more recently dissident republicans have warned that they see anyone who works at a police station as a ‘legitimate target’.

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Teenager dies after bus incident

A teenage boy has died after a road incident involving a bus as it left a bus station in Powys.

The 16-year-old was treated by paramedics at the scene in Newtown at around 1800 BST on Thursday, said Dyfed-Powys Police.

A Tanat Valley Coaches service was travelling into Back Lane when it was in collision with the boy, from the Welshpool area.

Police have asked anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact them.

The teenager was taken by ambulance, under police escort to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Any witnesses should contact Dyfed Powys Police on 101 or their local police station.

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Cameron rejects homeless claims

Nobody should be made homeless by controversial cuts to housing benefit, David Cameron has said.

The PM refused to comment on London Mayor Boris Johnson’s claim it will mean “Kosovo-style social cleansing”.

But he said the housing benefit budget had to be controlled and the government would still be “prepared to pay up to £20,000 a year” to families.

“I don’t think it will be necessary for anybody to go without a home,” he added at a press conference in Brussels.

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