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[JohnCenaFan28]

A teenage girl who witnessed the suffering of Baby P told of her guilt after failing to save him, it has been reported.

In an interview, the 16-year-old - named Mary in the report because she cannot be identified for legal reasons - described the abuse that was inflicted on the toddler by his 27-year-old mother and her 32-year-old boyfriend.

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 toddler's mother, her boyfriend and their lodger, Jason Owen, 36, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on December 15 for causing or allowing his death.

Mary moved into the house aged 15 when she ran away from home to be with her lover Owen, 20 years her senior, in June 2007. They lived there with Owen's three children - the eldest just a year younger than Mary - and Baby P's mother, her boyfriend and four children.

She said the mother's boyfriend, whom she described as a "brute", would enjoy tormenting the toddler by hurting him and training him to perform Nazi salutes.

"I was really scared because of what I'd seen. I thought he'd do that to me. His eyes were evil. When he was hurting Baby P he'd look at me and grin. He was evil all the time," she said.

When one of the other youngsters started screaming that Baby P was dead, Mary said the child's mother did her hair and got dressed before the ambulance was called. She said Owen tried to resuscitate the child but the mother's boyfriend "didn't care".

Mary, who gave evidence via videolink in the recent court case, said Haringey social services had "blood on their hands" for missing clues about what happened in the house.

She told the paper she had flashbacks to the "beautiful" toddler every day, saying: "I just wish I hadn't been too scared to stand up to his stepdad. Now I deserve to suffer."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

A seven-year-old autistic boy and his grandmother killed by a train at a railway crossing was "an accident waiting to happen", a councillor said.

Jean Hoggart, 56, died alongside Mikey Dawson after they were struck by a train as they crossed the Robin Hood line in Bestwood Village, Nottinghamshire, at 6.45pm on Saturday.

Mikey's mum Karen Dawson was too devastated to speak after losing her mother and son.

A local politician said the crossing was "an accident waiting to happen".

Councillor Chris Baron, from Nottinghamshire County Council, said he wanted gates that lock themselves when a train approaches to be installed.

The 53-year-old, who represents the area, said: "It's a mixture of East Midlands Trains and Railtrack and I believe they have a responsibility and duty to ensure pedestrians have a safe route across the tracks.

"If you look at it with the lack of lighting, together with the dog-legged crossing, this was an accident waiting to happen. There will be discussions between public bodies about who should be supplying the street lights and who has to pay for the work, but all we are bothered about is that people can get across safely."

Labour's Paddy Tipping, MP for Sherwood, said there had also been a long-running campaign to improve lighting at the pedestrian-only crossing.

It is understood that Mrs Hoggart, a dinner-lady from nearby Hucknall, was visiting her sister Julia Hackett with her grandson in Bestwood Village.

They were making their way over the crossing, which also covers a tramline, when they were hit by the Worksop to Nottingham service.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Two senior MPs have called for the Government to reveal whether it knew in advance about a US missile strike in Pakistan that reportedly killed a British terror suspect, it was reported.

Rashid Rauf, who escaped from custody in Pakistan last year, was suspected of involvement in an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic jets.

His relatives 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.

Andrew Dismore, the Labour chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, told The Sunday Times he would ask the committee to investigate whether British intelligence services had been consulted about the attack.

"This is a very serious matter, particularly if the attack was based on intelligence provided by the British security agencies. We can investigate whether British security services had involvement in providing intelligence concerning British nationals in Pakistan. I anticipate this is a matter the committee might like to follow up," he said.

"If there is any suggestion of complicity of the UK security services in this particular incident then that is certainly something we would want to take into account in our work on this subject."

Speaking to the paper, Patrick Mercer, the Tory MP for Newark and former shadow security minister, said: "This raises the question of how much co-operation the British intelligence agencies provided in what is ultimately the execution of a British subject. The government must explain its involvement and its future policy in this area."

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.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Government departments have "wasted" more than £200 million on IT projects that were later abandoned, research by the Conservatives has found.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) alone has spent £156m on aborted programmes, official figures show.

That included £143m invested in a benefits processing project that was scrapped, although ministers insist £73m of that has still been of value to the DWP.

The figures, from the past five years, were obtained by shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond via a series of Parliamentary questions.

He said they were proof of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's "casual" use of public money.

"Families struggling to make ends meet and facing the uncertainties of recession will be outraged to learn that millions of pounds of their money have been wasted on these botched IT programmes. This is yet more evidence of Gordon Brown's casual attitude to taxpayers' money."

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has got rid of three major IT programmes before they were completed, costing a total of £26m.

They included the £12.6m pilot of a data and records management system, which was subsequently ditched, a £9.7m customer information programme and a £4m project for handling licences for protected species.

The Department for Transport has spent £9m on cancelled programmes, comprising mainly a £7.9m DVLA vehicle-tracking system.

In addition, £5m has been spent by the Cabinet Office, £4m by the Ministry of Justice and £1m by the Department for Communities and Local Government on abandoned IT programmes.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Measures aimed at stimulating the mortgage market and helping hard-pressed homeowners have failed to convince housing experts.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said the Government would work on plans to underwrite mortgage financing in a bid to stimulate the sector, while also announcing measures to protect families at risk of repossession.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) described the package as "helpful, if modest" while Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at broker John Charcol, described it as "a bit of a damp squib".

In his Pre-Budget Report, Mr Darling welcomed recommendations made by former HBOS chief Sir James Crosby in his report on mortgage finance. In it, he called for temporary Government support for the mortgage-backed securities market.

Banks traditionally sell on bundles of their mortgages to investors, in a process known as securitisation, to raise the money they need to lend to consumers. But the securitisation market has dried up in the wake of the problems in the US sub-prime mortgage sector, leaving banks increasingly reliant on using money from depositors to fund their mortgage lending.

In the Commons, Mr Darling said: "To implement Sir James's recommendation, the Government would need to obtain State Aid approval from the European Commission and resolve some technical and practical considerations. But we will proceed to work up a detailed scheme based on his recommendations and seek State Aid approval to proceed."

Meanwhile, measures to help struggling homeowners were also announced by the Chancellor. If someone is having difficulty paying their mortgage, lenders will wait at least three months before initiating repossession proceedings. In addition a scheme that covers mortgage interest payments for those who lose their jobs will be extended to cover mortgages up to £200,000. "This will help ease worries for homeowners who have lost their jobs as they look for new employment," the Chancellor said.

The Government also announced £15 million of new funding for debt advice in the Pre-Budget Report.

Housing minister Margaret Beckett said: "It is our priority to make sure that hard-working homeowners who suffer a loss of income through no fault of their own have the option to stay in their homes. The new measures ... will expand the support available to those who need it most. Everyone needs to do their bit to help families avoid the traumatic impact of repossession, and we expect lenders to do more to build on work already under way to help their customers."

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, said: "Everything announced (in the Pre-Budget Report) is helpful, if modest".

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

High earners are to be hit with a new income tax rate of 45% as part of the announced package of measures.

In what was described by the Chancellor as "the fairest approach" to help families through the recession, the new upper rate will help fund a series of cuts and credit increases for those less well off.

Alistair Darling said his proposals would help "prevent the recession deepening" but tax experts warned of the impact on the UK's "wealth creators", potentially driving them offshore.

In his Pre-Budget Report, Mr Darling confirmed that people with incomes of more than £150,000 will face a new tax rate of 45%. He also announced that personal allowances would be amended to end a anomaly of the system which sees high-earners gain more benefit than those on basic incomes.

As such it will be reduced for those earning between £100,000 and £140,000 and abolished for those on even higher incomes.

In a bid to further help low earners hit by the abolition of the 10p income tax rate, the Chancellor announced that temporary increase in their personal allowance would be made permanent. Furthermore it would be increased, making them £145 a year better off from April. This would help 22 million basic rate tax payers, according to the Government.

Some tax experts expressed concern over the new top rate of income tax. Stephen Quest, partner at Grant Thornton said it could harm wealth creators. He said: "The people really hit are the high earners. There will not be a lot of sympathy but will it mean the talent goes offshore?"

Employers and workers on medium and high incomes will also be hit by a rise in National insurance Contributions from 2011. But those earning less than £20,000 will be exempt from the rise.

Other moves to help hard-pushed households includes a rise in the Child Tax Credit in April above that originally announced. Pensioners will also see their credits rise from £124 to £130 a week for individuals and £189 to £198 for couples.

Increases in Child Benefit will be introduced in January - three months early. Meanwhile every pensioner will receive a one-off payment of £60 in the new year.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Christmas shopping will be cheaper this year thanks to a temporary 2.5% cut in VAT announced in the Pre-Budget Report, but purchasers of alcohol, cigarettes and fuel will not share in the savings.

A 13-month reduction in VAT from 17.5% to 15% announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling will come into effect on December 1 and cost the Treasury an estimated £12.5 billion.

But the Chancellor introduced separate increases in duties on drink, cigarettes, petrol and diesel which will offset the reduction, so they end up costing about the same. And the Treasury revealed that these duty hikes will remain in place after VAT returns to 17.5% at the beginning of 2010 - leaving drinkers and smokers paying 2.5% more in the long run.

The cut in VAT - which brings in £83bn to the Treasury in a normal year - forms part of a "fiscal stimulus" package designed to inject new vigour into Britain's economy. Mr Darling hopes that by putting more money into consumers' pockets, he can encourage them to spend more and keep British shops and manufacturers in business.

But there are concerns over the cost to business of changing price tags and accountancy systems to take account of the change. A Treasury document estimates the total compliance cost over two years at £300 million.

Shadow chancellor George Osborne said that many retailers were questioning the cost of implementing the VAT reduction and the impact it will have on the High Street when many shops are already offering 20% or 30% price reductions to lure in shoppers.

Tax expert Andrew Smith, chief economist at KPMG, said it was "unclear whether it will tempt cash-strapped consumers back into the shops".

And David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said businesses were "disappointed" that a VAT cut was the main feature of the fiscal stimulus package. "The direct benefits of a VAT cut are very uncertain," said Mr Kern. "There could be significant leakages into savings and imports.

"Any boost to personal consumption resulting from lower VAT will be helpful. However, a VAT cut only provides a remote boost to business cashflow and profits. It does not provide sufficient encouragement for business to limit unemployment increases and to continue investing."

The Chancellor told the House of Commons the VAT reduction would "make goods and services cheaper and, by encouraging spending, will help stimulate growth".

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Two members of a biker gang have been found guilty of murdering a Hell's Angel who was shot dead on the M40.

Simon Turner, 41, from Nuneaton, and Dane Garside, a 42-year-old from Coventry, were also convicted by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

The jury is still considering its verdicts on four other men who deny murdering Gerry Tobin, who was shot in the head near Warwick Services in August last year.

Turner, who told the court that he was at a workshop in Coventry at the time of the killing, was also unanimously convicted of possessing two shotguns which were found in the city following the murder.

Garside admitted during the eight-week trial that he was the driver of the Rover car from which Mr Tobin was shot, but denied playing any role in the killing.

Mr Tobin, a mechanic from Mottingham, south east London, was returning from the Bulldog Bash bikers' festival when he was shot as he travelled along the M40 at around 90mph on August 12 last year.

The trial has been told he was targeted simply because he was a "fully patched" Hell's Angel by members of the rival Outlaws motorcycle gang.

Following the verdicts, Mr Justice Treacy sent the jury back out to continue its deliberations, which have so far taken more than 21 hours. The judge also gave a majority direction to the jury, allowing the panel to return verdicts on which at least 10 of its members are agreed.

A seventh defendant, 44-year-old Sean Creighton, pleaded guilty to murder before the trial began. The jury has been told that Creighton, from Coventry, also admitted two firearms charges.

The jury is still considering a charge of murder against Malcolm Bull, 53, from Milton Keynes, and three other men from Coventry - Karl Garside, 45, Dean Taylor, 47, and 46-year-old Ian Cameron. It has also to decide whether the four men - along with Dane Garside - are guilty of a further count of possessing a firearm.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Police officers will be given 10,000 Taser stun guns under new plans.

Specially trained officers will be able to use the 50,000-volt weapons when faced with the threat of serious violence, the Home Office said.

But critics warned the weapons were "potentially lethal" and called for a review of the decision.

Oliver Sprague, Amnesty International's UK's arms programme director, said the use of the guns should be restricted to "life threatening" or "very dangerous" situations.

The group said 300 people have died after being shot with Tasers in the US and Canada, where their use is more widespread.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she wanted to give police officers the tools to confront dangerous people. She said: "I am proud that we have one of the few police services around the world that do not regularly carry firearms and I want to keep it that way.

"But every day the police put themselves in danger to protect us, the public. They deserve our support, so I want to give the police the tools they tell me they need to confront dangerous people.

Tasers deliver powerful electric shocks up to 10 metres away, leaving targets incapacitated and easier to arrest. Last year non-firearms officers were given the weapons for the first time. The Home Office trial with 10 forces found the threat of being Tasered was often enough to stop a violent incident.

Tasers were deployed on more than 600 occasions in the past year but only used 93 times, ministers said. The new weapons will be given to all 43 forces in England and Wales.

The move was welcomed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), which said trials showed in the majority of cases Tasers helped police resolve incidents without resorting to other weapons.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

A mother has told an inquest hearing how she accidentally flushed her baby down a toilet before hiding his body in her car boot.

Claire Jones became pregnant after an affair with work colleague Marcus Bezerra, Cardiff Coroner's Court heard.

She hid her condition from friends and family, including partner of 11 years David Stoneman, by claiming a wheat allergy caused a hard mass to form in her stomach.

When she experienced pains in the early hours of December 28 last year, a week after her due date, she put it down to the diarrhoea from which she was suffering. Ms Jones said she did not realise she had given birth to son Daniel until she flushed the toilet at her partner's parents' home in Penarth, South Wales, where she had been celebrating Christmas.

Ms Jones, of Pontnewydd, Cwmbran, South Wales, told the inquest: "While I was still on the toilet, I flushed it, and I felt something pull. I stood up slightly, and I could see a foot in the bowl of the toilet."

Sobbing, Ms Jones said: "I could see the baby's foot, so I pulled the baby out. I sat by the toilet. I put him on my lap. He wasn't crying. I was trying to feel for a pulse and there was nothing."

Ms Jones, who had her mobile phone with her, said she did not call for help because she panicked and tried to revive him on her own. She said: "I just kept trying and trying, and it wasn't working. He was blue. I wrapped him in a towel. I don't remember how, but I must have put him in the boot of the car."

Daniel's body was found in his mother's Vauxhall Astra at the home she shared with Mr Stoneman in St Mellons, Cardiff, after she was arrested 10 days later. A post-mortem examination could not confirm if Daniel, who weighed seven-and-a-half pounds, died before or after birth. Pathologist Andrew Davison said if Daniel did survive birth, it was likely he drowned.

Cardiff Coroner Mary Hassell recorded a narrative verdict describing the circumstances of Daniel's death, saying Ms Jones built up a "web of deception" to conceal the pregnancy and subsequent birth.

The coroner said she did not know if Daniel had been stillborn or not, but dismissed his mother's account that she did not realise she had given birth.

-Nova