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[JohnCenaFan28]

Jonathan Ross is set to keep his job as a BBC presenter, despite the Andrew Sachs obscene phone calls scandal, after the corporation's governing body agreed the "right action" had been taken against him.

The BBC Trust, which has published its report on the controversy, said the calls were "grossly offensive" and there was no justification for broadcasting them.

It said the material broadcast on Russell Brand's Radio 2 show last month was a "deplorable intrusion" into the private lives of Sachs and his granddaughter, Georgina Baillie.

But Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons said the BBC's director general had taken the right action with regard to Ross, who was suspended without pay for three months.

He said: "We have underlined very clearly that it is not the job of the Trust to make decisions about the terms and conditions of performers or the sanctions that are applied to them when they are found to be wanting.

"We are very clear that the director general has taken the right action with respect to Jonathan Ross."

Ross, who was involved in the broadcast, is due to return to his £6 million-a-year job when his current period of suspension without pay ends in January.

The Trust said there was no "editorial justification" and no "informed consent obtained" for airing the messages, which were left on the answering machine of the Fawlty Towers actor.

BBC trustee Richard Tait said there were three failures: to exercise editorial control, to follow established compliance systems and a failure of judgment in taking editorial decisions.

But he said the Trust considered the BBC's response to the controversy to be appropriate.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Every household in the country has been promised immediate support to get through the economic downturn amid growing expectations of a cut in Value Added Tax (VAT).

Officials were quoted by both the Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Mirror suggesting that VAT could be slashed from 17.5% to 15% for at least a year.

The £12.5 billion move was emerging as a possible centrepiece of Monday's Pre-Budget Report (PBR) as Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling signalled they were "ready to help".

The Government is expected to pump between £15 and £20 billion into the economy in a Keynesian-style bid to spend Britain out of the downturn.

"Every household will get support now - to help them through the difficult period ahead," Mr Darling wrote in the Sunday Mirror. "Worried mortgage holders will get help and I shall do what I can to help those who lose their jobs. And I will state exactly how we intend to pay for the help we are providing now."

The PBR comes amid growing concerns about Britain's ballooning debt and the tax rises and spending cuts that may be necessary later.

Tory leader David Cameron has come out against the Government's proposed "fiscal stimulus" - higher spending funded by borrowing to spur the economy back to strength.

But the Prime Minister attacked the Conservative "do nothing" approach, warning that failure to intervene only prolongs the pain of recession.

"If we do not act now, the downturn will be longer and more severe," he wrote in the News of the World. "A prolonged recession means people out of work for longer, more repossessions, and businesses taking longer to start growing again.

"We all remember what happened in the 1980s and 1990s when the Conservative Government sat on its hands and just let people fend for themselves. It took us years to recover and much of the damage could have been avoided had the Government stepped in to help people out. We will not repeat those mistakes. I want every household facing difficulty at this time to know we are ready to help and on their side."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Large parts of the UK are braced for blizzard-like conditions as forecasters warned of more heavy snowfall.

MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said the east was set to be worst hit as an Arctic front swept across the country in the first prolonged cold snap of the winter.

Motorists were warned to be prepared for hazardous driving conditions with up to 10cm (4in) of snow predicted in some places.

"There is likely to be a couple of hours of snowfall," said Rob Hutchinson, a forecaster for MeteoGroup UK. "Wales, the south west and Northern Ireland will probably escape but central and eastern England and Scotland will be affected. There could also be a couple of centimetres in London but the east is likely to be the worst hit with between 5 and 10cm."

The Met Office issued severe weather warnings along the east coast, from North Yorkshire to Suffolk.

Although much of the UK is set to wake up to a blanket of snow, much of it is likely to be washed away by rain as the day progresses, with milder air coming from the south west, MeteoGroup UK said.

The AA advised motorists to limit their speed to the conditions and to be aware of the greater stopping distances required in ice and snow. It said it was deploying snow-busting patrol vehicles to help rescue drivers stranded in ice and snow.

Meanwhile, councils across the country were getting gritters ready to clear roads of any snow and ice.

The charity Age Concern has warned older people to take extra care to stay warm in the freezing weather.

The cold front has prompted bookmakers William Hill to slash the odds of a white Christmas in London from 8/1 to 6/1.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

The British National Party will capture senior roles on police authorities if plans to introduce direct elections go ahead, ministers have been warned.

Senior Labour figures in local government are convinced that the far-right party will gain a foothold on police authorities if the changes are brought in.

Their fears emerged as Communities Secretary Hazel Blears called for a new drive against the BNP in the week that a list of 12,000 names and addresses of the party's membership was posted on the internet, casting a new light on the make-up of BNP supporters.

Sir Jeremy Beecham, Labour group leader at the Local Government Association, said that police authority elections would play into the hands of the nationalist party.

"Hazel is absolutely right that mainstream parties must redouble their efforts on grassroots action to block the rise of the BNP," he said. "However, by pushing ahead with direct elections for policing, an area extremists would love to gain control of, the government is leaving the door wide open to the BNP."

Sir Jeremy, also a member of Labour's ruling National Executive Committee, added that the proposals risked handing the BNP the opportunity to "govern the entire police system".

"The ongoing failure of the Home Office to consider the consequences of this policy will, I have no doubt, result in crime-fighting activity reducing in many areas, and in some places, we will see the BNP and other extreme voices taking control of the police," he said.

Writing in The Guardian, Ms Blears said: "We must recognise that where the BNP wins votes, it is often a result of local political failure. Estates that have been ignored for decades; voters taken for granted; local services that have failed; white working-class voters who feel politicians live on a different planet.

"In such a political vacuum, the BNP steps in with offers of grass-cutting, a listening ear and easy answers to complex problems."

Attacking BNP leader Nick Griffin's "cunning strategy", Ms Blears accused the party of playing on people's "apprehensions" and peddling "pernicious but plausible lies".

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

A British man suspected of involvement in an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic jets is believed to have been killed by a US missile strike, officials in Pakistan said.

Relatives of Rashid Rauf, who escaped from custody in Pakistan last year, were said to be distraught at reports that he was among five people killed by the attack in the tribal North Waziristan region.

The British Foreign Office said it was still investigating the reports and could not confirm whether Rauf, who is originally from Birmingham, had been killed.

But Pakistan's government confirmed that Rashid Rauf and a Saudi militant called Abu Zubair al-Masri were the apparent targets of the pre-dawn strike near the border with Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, it emerged that members of Rauf's family were "in the dark" about his fate and were making desperate attempts to establish whether he was still alive.

Rauf's family had little comment to make at their terraced home opposite a children's play area in the Ward End area of Birmingham.

"I am angry," a man who emerged from the property said as he ordered the media to leave. "For your own safety, all I can say to you is goodbye."

Rauf was suspected of having links to an alleged plot in 2006 to bring down up to 10 transatlantic passenger jets. He was arrested in Pakistan in 2006 following an apparent tip-off from British anti-terrorism officers, days before a series of raids in the UK which were followed by the tightening of hand baggage restrictions on flights.

Reports in Pakistan suggest that Rauf - who escaped from custody outside an Islamabad court last December - was killed by an attack involving a pilot-less drone aircraft on the village of Ali Khel.

Thought to be aged in his mid-20s, Rauf is believed to hold both British and Pakistani citizenship and was wanted by West Midlands Police in connection with the death of his uncle in 2002.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Charles Clarke has moved to bury the hatchet with Gordon Brown, acknowledging the Prime Minister had done "really well" over the past two months.

The Blairite former home secretary voiced concern in the summer that Labour was "destined to disaster" under Mr Brown, then under attack from a section of ministers and backbenchers.

But Mr Clarke has now said that the premier had demonstrated "genuine economic and political leadership at a time when it was both desperately needed and difficult to do".

Speaking to the Independent on Sunday and Observer newspapers, he said Labour could now win the next general election.

"I'm not well known for being one of Gordon's biggest fans, but I do think that since the Labour Party conference he's done really well in meeting the challenges of the world financial and economic crisis," he said.

His comments pave the way for a second major rapprochement for Mr Brown after his old foe Peter (now Lord) Mandelson joined the Cabinet as Business Secretary last month.

They suggest the Prime Minister could finally be moving Labour on from the divisions between Blairites and Brownites which have dogged the party for more than a decade.

Mr Clarke said there remained a "political debate about the past", but added: "In the present Gordon has earned the right to support from across the political and business spectrum."

He went on: "It's been a real surprise to me but, to be fair, Gordon's economic self-confidence has made him more decisive on the political front.

"Winning the general election, particularly in the marginal seats in the South East, remains a really tough call but Labour's obviously back in the race and can do it."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

MPs have expressed concern at suggestions the mother of Baby P could be granted a new identity - costing taxpayers millions of pounds.

Amid claims that the 27-year-old's lawyers are preparing to invoke human rights legislation to assure her anonymity for life, there were immediate complaints at the potential bill to the public of such a move.

Tory MP Andrew Rosindell insisted on Saturday there should be no consideration of the matter until she had spent many years behind bars.

A judge has warned that the three people convicted of involvement in the killing of Baby P in August last year were facing "substantial" terms in prison. As well as the toddler's mother, her 32-year-old boyfriend and their lodger, Jason Owen, 36, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on December 15 for causing or allowing his death.

Baby P died in a blood-splattered cot in Haringey, north London, in August last year. He had suffered more than 50 injuries despite repeated visits by the authorities.

The Daily Mail reported on Saturday that the mother's lawyers were set to argue that her life would be at risk if identified after her release.

As well as a new identity, she could receive 24-hour police protection.

Mr Rosindell said: "There is likely to be permanent hatred towards those people who are guilty and for that reason I would imagine, based on past precedent, that the authorities would consider some sort of protection or fresh identity for that person.

"One of the reasons [Moors Murderer] Myra Hindley was never released was because her safety outside jail could not be assured. It's a big problem, but from the public's point of view, they are not going to be very happy about a person given special treatment and lots of money spent on them when they have committed such an evil crime."

The Ministry of Justice said any suggestion of anonymity for the mother was "pure speculation". The matter would be decided by the courts at a later time. A spokesman said: "She's not even been sentenced yet and something like this usually comes towards the end of a person's sentence. It's not something that is imminent."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Ministers are set to ban happy hours in pubs and clubs as part of a crack down on binge-drinking, it has been claimed.

A new Code of Conduct will outlaw promotions that encourage drinking at speed and in large quantities, it was reported.

The Daily Telegraph said the measures, designed to reduce drink-fuelled violence and injuries, would be announced by the Government a week on Monday.

It follows long-term concern about the costs of alcohol misuse, estimated to run to up to £25 billion a year.

Critics of liberalised licensing laws claim the move three years ago to 24-hour pub opening has exacerbated the problem.

A Department for Health spokeswoman said research on the issue had been commissioned but was unable to comment on any planned announcements.

The Telegraph reported that the code of conduct, binding on pubs and clubs, would ban "time-limited" cut-price drink offers, or happy hours.

Other areas to be curbed include offers of free drinks for women, while alcoholic containers could feature similar health warnings to those on cigarette packets.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

The Russian man accused of fatally poisoning Alexander Litvinenko would consider coming to Britain to be questioned by Scotland Yard, it has been reported.

Former KGB agent Mr Litvinenko died of radioactive polonium poisoning in a London hospital two years ago. He had fallen ill shortly after drinking tea during a meeting at a West End hotel with former KGB contacts Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitri Kovtun.

Mr Lugovoy, 42, was named by British prosecutors as the main suspect in the murder of the Russian dissident.

But in a meeting over tea in Moscow, he told a reporter from The Times that he would like Mr Kovtun - his childhood friend and the main witness in the case - to travel to London to clear their names.

"We have an idea for Dmitri to travel to London to talk to representatives of the prosecutors. We are looking for a way to achieve this if we could get guarantees from the Government of Great Britain," Mr Lugovoy told the paper.

He also did not rule out travelling to London later himself if Mr Kovtun was not handed over to Germany, where he remains under investigation by police after apparently leaving behind traces of radiation during a visit to Hamburg before the London meeting with Mr Litvinenko.

Mr Lugovoy would also want guarantees against his own arrest before making such a trip.

Mr Litvinenko's deathbed statement accused Mr Putin, then the Russian President, of ordering his assassination.

His murder led to angry exchanges after the Russian Government refused to extradite Mr Lugovoy, who denies any involvement in his death and has asserted that he was framed by MI6. "What was beneficial for Russia out of this situation? Russia didn't gain anything from it," he said.

A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard said she could not comment on the case.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

A 21-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of an Arab student.

George Austin, of no fixed address from Bermondsey, south London was charged on Friday evening with the manslaughter of Mohammed al-Majed.

Mohammed, 16, from Qatar, died two days after suffering a serious head injury when he hit the pavement during a confrontation in Hastings, East Sussex, on August 22.

Austin, who stood in the dock wearing a grey striped jumper flanked by two officers, was remanded in custody following a brief hearing at Hastings Magistrates' Court.

Kenneth Melsom, chairman of the Magistrates' bench ordered Austin to appear at Lewes Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on December 5.

A further plea and case management hearing will take place at the same court on February 13 next year.

Officers arrested the 21-year-old on an aircraft which had arrived in the UK from Cyprus on Thursday night.

Mohammed was studying English at EF International Language Schools in White Rock, Hastings, and had been in the town for about five weeks.

His body was flown back to Qatar after he died at King's College Hospital, London.

-Nova