Army officer 'told of kit shortage'
A heroic officer killed in Afghanistan complained of equipment shortages to his fiancee just days before his death in a firefight, it was revealed.
Captain David Hicks, who received the Military Cross for gallantry, told his partner Nicola Billen his men were "sitting ducks" for the Taliban at their makeshift base. In letters and conversations, he repeatedly spoke of his "frustration" that demands for kit went unheeded.
Miss Billen told the Daily Telegraph Capt Hicks had not specified what they were missing, but said: "I keep asking for things and I'm not getting them".
Blaming a helicopter shortage - which hit supplies so badly that on one occasion they had to stop firing mortar rounds to preserve ammunition - he added: "It is ridiculous that we have to make do."
On several occasions the 26-year-old had asked for a doctor for be sent to the remote Inkerman base, north of the volatile town of Sangin, because they were being attacked twice a day by the Taliban. But it was not until he was killed in a battle with the enemy on August 11 last year that a doctor was permanently stationed at the base.
Earlier this week, the coroner at Capt Hicks's inquest criticised the Ministry of Defence for forcing troops to "make do".
In a letter to 32-year-old Miss Billen, just two days before he was killed as he tried bravely to locate Taliban positions, Capt Hicks wrote: "It still remains pretty busy at the minute with a few niggling problems that concern me but I won't go into them now."
The officer, of 1st Battalion Royal Anglians, was in charge of 60 men at the outpost. On the morning Capt Hicks died was he was devastated that a fellow Royal Anglian, Pte Tony Rawson, had been killed the day before. In a final phone call to Miss Billen, minutes before he was killed, he said: "I'm not taking any unnecessary risks but we are being attacked twice a day - it's just too much, we can't keep going like this."
Miss Billen said: "Then we started talking about other things and then the explosion went off and he said 'Sweetheart I have got to go. I will speak to you later I love you'."
Capt Hicks was hit by a shell as he tried to locate enemy position from the top of a sangar observation platform. He could have returned to the UK weeks before his death as he had handed in his resignation, but chose to stay on until his six-month tour was finished.
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Police with crime records defended
A police force defended its officers after it was reported some have criminal records for offences such as assault, fraud and gun crime.
Hampshire Constabulary said a criminal conviction does not "preclude employment" after it emerged there are 42 separate convictions among its 4,000 officers.
A force spokesman would not comment on reports that the convictions included benefit fraud, discharging a firearm, possession of a cannabis plant, being drunk and disorderly, assault and theft.
He said they expect "high standards" from officers and staff and each conviction is dealt with according to "individual merits and circumstances".
He said: "Hampshire Constabulary adheres to national standards for the discipline procedures for both police staff and police officers.
"The Home Office sets procedures to be followed for officers with criminal convictions. A criminal conviction does not preclude employment, however very careful consideration is always given to people with convictions."
The spokesman added that some of the convictions against officers happened during their youth before they joined the police service.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said those in the force are subject to the Police and Misconduct Regulations set by Government. The regulations include a reprimand, fine or reduction in rank and decisions are left to individual forces.
Paul West, ACPO lead for the Professional Standards Working Group and Chief Constable of West Mercia, said: "Where wrongdoing is alleged, police officers are investigated and action taken as appropriate to each case.
"It should be remembered that there are just over 140,000 police officers in the country, the overwhelming majority of whom serve the public with dedication. From December 1 new Police and Misconduct Regulations will come into effect which will simplify and speed up the discipline process."
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Family's grief after gap year death
The parents of a talented graduate who was killed on safari in Africa while she travelled on a gap-year trip around the world have spoken of their loss.
Claire Spruce was on the trip of a lifetime to celebrate the end of her student life when she was hit by a lorry in Malawi. Miss Spruce, from Cam, near Dursley, in Gloucestershire, had just completed a doctorate in clinical psychology and would have been 27 last Monday.
She had started her year-long trip in September and was travelling through the continent with tour group Absolute Africa, visiting Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar and was to start volunteer work with an South African charity.
The group were waiting in Malawi to cross into Zambia on November 7 and had parked up near the border. Miss Spruce and other members of the group crossed the road to buy lemonade when a lorry came hurtling towards them. The group scattered but Miss Spruce fell and was hit and killed by the vehicle.
The lorry driver, a 24-year-old man with no licence, tried to escape but was caught by the driver of Miss Spruce's tour group. He is now in prison in Zambia facing a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
Miss Spruce had already been to China, India and Vietnam and had been regularly updating her family and friends with emails about her travels. She was due to go on to South Africa, her mother Colleen's home country, and volunteer for the Kathleen Voysey Health Clinic and Soup Kitchen in Durban, where she had worked before.
After visiting Cape Town and Johannesburg, Miss Spruce was to fly to Australia to work for a while before continuing on to New Zealand, Fiji and Hawaii.
Her father David said today he last heard from his daughter via email the night before she was killed.
"She told us about the things she had done and what she had seen, the various safari trips she had been on where she had seen the wildlife at close quarters, the Masai Mara and the remote villages," he said.
"She told me not to forget her birthday and that she would be on a house boat on the Zambezi river. This trip was the end of her student life and a spring board into her profession. She said Malawi was one of the most wonderful countries she had been to."
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BBC Children In Need set for record
Hailed as "the greatest Children in Need" ever, the charity telethon is on course to smash the previous £37 million record haul.
Already a total of £20,991,216 has been counted after the seven hour television extravaganza that featured performances from acts like Take That and Girls Aloud as well as a troupe of singing newsreaders.
Despite the economic downturn, the live show topped last year's record total of £19,089,771 and led presenter Terry Wogan to claim it was "the greatest Children in Need since we started".
Deep-pocketed Londoners donated the most money to the cause with a total of £2,741,249. Viewers from Scotland raised £1,751,780; in Wales £1,208,812; and Northern Ireland £711,260. In the English BBC regions viewers in the East raised the most with £1,765,774; followed by the North West with £1,707,550; and the West Midlands with £1,692,356.
However, reformed boy-band Take That made one of the largest single donations, adding a £250,000 contribution after singing their new song Greatest Day.
The event, hosted by Terry Wogan and Fearne Cotton, had the theme "Doing Something Different", with viewers and stars encouraged to go outside their normal routines to raise money.
Cast members of The Bill got into the spirit of things by performing a medley of Blues Brothers hits including, appropriately, Jailhouse Rock, while performing an elaborate dance routine in various police scenarios. Stars from EastEnders also did their bit for Britain's disadvantaged children, performing a string of popular show tunes from musicals including Moulin Rouge, My Fair Lady, Saturday Night Fever and Mary Poppins.
Another highlight was Wogan's lumbering attempt to beat Tess Daly in the Strictly Come Dancing dance-off which judge Bruno Tonioli described, charitably, as "a good performance for radio".
The cast of Coronation Street meanwhile joined in the fun by taking some expert fashion advice from How To Look Good Naked's Gok Wan, who got into the spirit of 'doing something different' by dressing in drag.
McFly kicked off the show, singing the official single for this year's event, Stay With Me and Do Ya. There were also performances from Sugababes, Leon Jackson, Stereophonics, Alesha Dixon, Razorlight, John Barrowman, Duffy, Il Divo, Jason Donovan and Russell Watson among others. An eagerly awaited appearance from dancing BBC newsreaders came late on with Fiona Bruce leading a troupe dressed in brightly-coloured Seventies garb to belt out a variety of ABBA hits.
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Probe after man found dead on drive
Police are appealing for witnesses after the body of a man with injuries to his throat was found in the driveway of a house in High Wycombe.
The discovery was made in Telford Way, Downley.
Officers are now patrolling the area and speaking to residents.
Supt Richard List from Thames Valley Police said: "We are currently awaiting post-mortem results which should determine the cause of death.
"It is crucial to the police investigation at the moment that anyone who may have seen or heard anything in the area between 6pm on Friday night and 8am this morning contacts us."
The man has not yet been identified and a post-mortem examination is to take place at High Wycombe General Hospital this afternoon.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact High Wycombe police station on 0845 8 505 505.
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Three Killed After Police Pursuit
Three people are dead after their vehicle crashed into a garden wall in Oldham while being pursued by a police car.
The two men and one woman were killed when their Vauxhall Vectra hit the wall shortly after 3.30am.
A second woman in the car survived the crash and was taken to hospital where her condition is described as critical.
Greater Manchester Police said a police patrol had earlier attempted to stop the car in Oldham town centre.
However, the driver made off and the officer began a pursuit.
The crash happened shortly afterwards in Middleton Road, Chadderton.
Speaking at the scene, Superintendent Alan Greene said the victims appeared to be "quite young".
He added: "The vehicle was going at considerable speed, so much so that the police car could not keep up with it."
Paul Kelly, 40, a warehouse manager who lives about 100 yards from the scene, said he was woken up by a huge explosion at around 3.45am.
He said: "It was so loud I thought something had come into my house. I ran to the window and could see the car in flames."
A spokeswoman said: "GMP's Professional Standards Branch is aware and the matter has now been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission."
In a separate incident, a man was killed when a car being followed by police crashed on a motorway.
Officers were following the vehicle along the M1 northbound at junction 29a, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, after it failed to stop.
The man, thought to be a rear seat passenger, was killed when the Vauxhall Corsa left the carriageway at around 2.00am and hit a bank.
The driver and another passenger were arrested near the crash scene.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has been informed of the incident.
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Osborne defends sterling warning
George Osborne mounted a robust defence of his warning that sterling faced "collapse" - insisting he had a duty to tell voters the truth.
The shadow chancellor said he was right to speak out, despite coming under fire for breaching convention and putting crucial G20 negotiations at risk by "talking down" the pound. The intervention drew an angry response from Gordon Brown, who stressed that politicians should not speak "irresponsibly" at a time of crisis.
The row is seen as having upped the pressure on Mr Osborne amid criticism from within the Tory Party of his response to the global financial crisis and controversial contacts with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. But Mr Osborne insisted he was obliged to warn that Government plans to borrow billions of pounds for tax cuts and higher spending risked disaster.
"My job as shadow chancellor is to tell the British people the truth about the British economy," he told BBC One's Andrew Marr show.
"The truth that it is the worst prepared economy in the world for recession. The truth that we have got the highest personal debt in the world. The truth that the pound has fallen by a record amount against other currencies.
"I am telling the public the truth and that is the job of elected politicians, particularly opposition politicians, in difficult times."
Mr Osborne went on: "We are warning the country that Gordon Brown is abandoning fiscal responsibility and when a government does that it stacks up debt for future generations and stacks up tax rises for future generations as well."
In his interview with The Times, Mr Osborne highlighted a 30% fall in value of the pound over recent months against a basket of currencies, and said Government policies were creating a "danger of having a proper sterling collapse, a run on the pound".
Some MPs suggested that a plunge in the pound when currency markets open tomorrow could leave Mr Osborne in serious difficulties - especially as David Cameron has so far failed to voice support for his close ally. However, Mr Osborne dismissed the idea that he would be partly to blame for further falls.
"What the markets are doing (is) looking at the economic fundamentals," he said. "They are not looking at what politicians - be it myself or indeed any other politicians - are saying. These are hard headed market operators. They are looking at the fundamentals and they are making a judgment about the British economy. They are making a judgment that we are worse placed than other economies - the US and some other European countries."
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