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Crash victim's friends raise funds

Written By Unknown on Senin, 29 April 2013 | 16.50

29 April 2013 Last updated at 02:53 ET

Friends of an 18-year-old woman who was killed when a hen party's minibus crashed, aim to raise £50,000 for the air ambulance service.

Trainee nurse Bethany Jones died and eight others remain in hospital after the bus and a lorry collided on the M62 in West Yorkshire on Friday.

Six air ambulances were involved in transporting the injured.

Hundreds of people from Miss Jones' home town of South Elmsall took part in a vigil in her memory on Sunday.

Hannah Bell, a friend of Miss Jones, said: "We put some candles down for Beth and then we went to the church up the road and laid our flowers and the tributes we'd all written and said a prayer for her.

"If you think of all the nice words in the world that was Beth and more."

Another friend, Bethany Billington, said: "We didn't believe it, we just couldn't believe it was Beth and when we did it was pure devastation, it was awful."

People have already donated more than £3,000 towards the appeal to raise funds for the air ambulances that tried to save Miss Jones' life.

"It is just something she would have wanted, If it had been any of us then she would have done the same thing," Miss Bell said of the appeal.

Friends of Beth Jones at a vigil in South Elmsall

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Friends of Bethany Jones are raising funds for the air ambulances in her memory

Twenty-one people were on the minibus heading from South Elmsall near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, to Liverpool.

Crews from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was the worst crash they had seen in years.

West Yorkshire Police said the lorry driver, arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, had been bailed.


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Syrian PM 'survives car bombing'

29 April 2013 Last updated at 04:42 ET

Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi has survived a car bomb attack in the capital, Damascus, reports say.

The blast in western Mazzeh district targeted Mr Halaqi's convoy, state television said. There are reported to be a number of casualties.

UK-based activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Mr Halaqi's bodyguard had been killed, AFP news agency reported.

It is unclear whether the blast was a suicide bombing or a planted device.

An unnamed Syrian official said the explosion was caused by a bomb placed underneath a parked car in the area, the Associated Press news agency reported.

An earlier report said it had been a suicide attack.

Syrian state television said the explosion happened at a busy intersection. Video from the scene showed burning debris and firefighters trying to put out a blaze.

A picture which activists said was of the site of the attack showed a large plume of black smoke rising into the air near a road and a high-rise building.

Activist groups said a bus and a car had been set on fire.

Mazzeh is a government-controlled quarter housing a military airport which is vital to the regime's defences.

Syrian forces and rebels have been fighting around Damascus for months but with neither side gaining an upper hand.

The attack is the latest bombing inside government-controlled areas of the capital.

In December a suicide bombing struck the interior ministry. State media said top officials had escaped unhurt, but it later emerged that the interior minister himself had been badly injured.

So far there has been no claim of responsibility for Monday's attack. Similar bombings in the past have been linked to the jihadist al-Nusra Front, one of the most prominent rebel groups fighting the regime.


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Police urged to focus on prevention

29 April 2013 Last updated at 05:01 ET

The primary role of the police is to prevent crime, not catch criminals, the chief inspector of constabulary for England and Wales has said.

Tom Winsor said focusing on would-be offenders, likely victims and potential crime hotspots would save taxpayers' money and keep more people safe.

But police would still "come to calls for help", he told the BBC.

The Home Office said force priorities were a matter for chief constables and elected police and crime commissioners.

Mr Winsor will expand his ideas in a speech to security think tank the Royal United Services Institute on Monday.

It comes as another think thank, Policy Exchange, recommended introducing a modern version of the "Tardis" police box - made famous by Dr Who - to allow people to report crimes.

'Prolific and persistent'

Mr Winsor told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the "primary purpose" of the police was to prevent crimes happening in the first place.

"All the costs of the criminal justice system - and they are considerable - are incurred downstream of an offence being committed," he said.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The biggest bang for the public's buck is on crime prevention"

End Quote Tom Winsor Chief Inspector of Constabulary

"Prevention is far better than cure. If we can prevent offences taking place and we prevent there being any victims, which is absolutely critical... we save all of those costs."

He said there should be greater use of technology and intelligence to "concentrate resources on crime hotspots".

Resources should be used "to know where repeat and vulnerable victims of crime are" and "know where the offenders are - those who are wearing tags and those who are just known to be the most prolific and persistent and dangerous offenders in the community - and take them off the streets".

Tom Winsor

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Tom Winsor: "The primary purpose of the police is the prevention of crime"

Police budgets are being cut by the government, but Mr Winsor said forces had "to do more with fewer resources".

"Therefore, the biggest bang for the public's buck is on crime prevention," he said but added: "When crimes have been committed they will respond."

A lawyer and former rail regulator - with no experience of serving in the police - Mr Winsor's appointment as chief inspector last year was a controversial choice.

In March 2012, he published a report for the government which contained wide-ranging changes to police pay and conditions.

Recommendations included fast-tracking recruits to inspector level within three years and cutting the starting salary for police constables in England and Wales to £19,000 - a reduction of £4,000.

'Cops in shops'

Meanwhile, Policy Exchange's Rebooting the PC Report recommends the introduction of modern versions of police boxes where people can "report crime, provide witness statements, discuss concerns and access information".

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We need to think differently to equip policing for the years ahead, identifying and sharing what helps"

End Quote Stuart Donald Acpo's Assistant Chief Constable

"These would be technologically-enabled police contact points featuring two-way audio-visual technology so that members of the public could communicate directly with police staff," the report said.

The report also says that, faced with budget cuts, police chiefs must avoid putting "buildings before bobbies" and should replace police stations with "cops in shops".

It quoted Met Police figures which showed the number of people reporting crime at front counters in London fell by more than 100,000 between 2006-07 and 2011-12.

A Home Office spokesman said decisions about the most effective use of resources "including the number, location and operating hours of police stations" were a matter for chief constables and police and crime commissioners.

The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents rank and file officers, said a fall in the use of front counters had been "happening around the country for many years".

But its vice-chairman, Steve White, said police stations were "accessible to the public, all day and night, something which is not provided by local shops and businesses".

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said that "in an age of austerity, relentlessly challenging established practice to improve local policing is more important than ever".

"We need to think differently to equip policing for the years ahead, identifying and sharing what helps - be it 'cop shops', public contact booths or special constables and volunteers complementing the way we patrol communities," Acpo's Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Donald said.


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Major benefits shake-up begins

29 April 2013 Last updated at 05:24 ET
Iain Duncan Smith

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Iain Duncan Smith said the slow roll-out of the changes, over four years, was "common sense"

A massive shake-up in the UK benefits system has begun, with the first claims made for new universal credit payments.

Universal credit will merge several benefits and tax credits into one monthly payout.

It begins with a very small number of new claimants in Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, but will eventually affect nearly six million people.

Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, said the new system was about "changing people".

'Right not early'

The benefit is for working age people looking for work, and will replace income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, income support, child tax credit, working tax credit, and housing benefit.

It is the central plank of a benefits overhaul, championed by Mr Duncan Smith, which the government says will mean people are always better off in work than on benefits.

Continue reading the main story
  • April 2013: First claims taken in Ashton-under-Lyne
  • July 2013: Delayed pilot schemes start in Warrington, Wigan and Oldham
  • October 2013: New claimants nationally move to universal credit
  • Spring 2014: Current claimants start shift from existing benefits to the new payment
  • 2017: Switch is completed

It is also designed to simplify the welfare system by bringing a number of benefits together and reducing fraud and error.

However, some groups have raised concerns that the system is entirely dependent on a complex computer network which may not be ready or able to cope with millions of claims. They are also concerned that many potential claimants do not have access to the internet.

Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said that universal credit was "a fine idea that builds on Labour's tax credits revolution".

But he added: "The truth is the scheme is late, over budget, the IT system appears to be falling apart and even DWP [Department of Work and Pensions] ministers admit they haven't got a clue what is going on."

But speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Mr Duncan Smith defended the new system, saying "it's quicker, it's more accurate and it's easier to understand", and said the slow pace of the roll-out was designed to "get it right, not get it early".

Liam Byrne

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Liam Byrne: "This is not the big shake-up we need in the benefits system"

"What we have to do is to start changing people, and that's what this system is about," he said, stressing that paying people on a monthly basis would reflect how the majority of workers are now paid.

"It's about trying to help those who are the most vulnerable to get ready for the world of work, and that will improve their lives dramatically."

Online claims

The key features of universal credit include:

  • A single, monthly payment which the government says mirrors the world of work, but charities say could create problems for personal money management
  • The inclusion of financial help to pay rent, which is currently paid directly to landlords
  • An online-only claiming process, with accounts also managed online
  • The benefit paid to households, rather than individuals, and put straight into bank accounts
  • Benefits automatically adjusted depending on earnings, which employers enter into a computer system called real-time information

This means that there will no longer be a ceiling of 16 hours of work a week, below which people can sign on and above which claims are cancelled.

This is set to benefit people like Darren Bailey, an agency worker, whose working hours fluctuate, meaning he has to keep making claims under the current system.

"I have five kids so I can't afford to mess about," he said. "Any system has got to be better than this system."

Budgeting

The government estimates 3.1 million households will be entitled to more benefits as a result of universal credit, while 2.8 million households will be entitled to less.

Across all households, ministers say there will be an average gain of £16 per month. The long-term cost to the government is £100m in current prices.

The only claimants to receive universal credit in the initial stages will be single, new claimants at a jobcentre in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Three other pilot projects - in Warrington, Oldham, and Wigan - have been delayed until July.

From October, newly unemployed people will make claims under the new system. Current benefits and tax credits will gradually be shifted to universal credit from spring 2014, with the whole process completed by 2017.

Benefits and grants charity Turn2us said that 43% of people whose benefits would be replaced by universal credit were not aware of the change.

"Once you look at the nuts and bolts, budgeting is not going to be easy especially for those with a small amount of money," said Alban Hawksworth, welfare benefits specialist at the charity.


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Three Britons jailed in Dubai

29 April 2013 Last updated at 05:35 ET

Three British men have been found guilty of drug offences in Dubai and jailed for four years each.

Londoners Suneet Jeerh, Grant Cameron and Karl Williams, who denied the charges, will be deported afterwards.

The three men, who were charged with possessing, taking and intending to distribute illegal drugs, were arrested on holiday in July.

Cameron's mother Tracy said they were "really happy" the supply charges had been dropped.

Torture concerns

Harsher sentences had been expected for Jeerh, 25, Cameron, 25, and Williams, 26, who were arrested after police said they found a quantity of synthetic cannabis known as "spice" in their car.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron had expressed concern over allegations they were tortured while in custody.

The BBC's Simon Atkinson, in Dubai, said the three men, dressed in white prison overalls, made a very brief appearance at Dubai's criminal court.

He said they were given their sentences and told they would be deported from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after serving them.

The men say they were subjected to torture by police, including electric shocks and beatings. Police in Dubai have denied any wrongdoing.

Tracy Cameron

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Tracy Cameron: "They were told they were going to die"

Legal rights charity Reprieve has taken on their case. Investigator Kate Higham said the drug supply charges were dropped entirely.

"The boys all got four years for consumption. While we are pleased with this result we will continue to push for the men's release and return in light of the torture they have suffered," she said.

"David Cameron must push for this when UAE President Sheikh Khalifa arrives on a state visit."

In a letter to Reprieve, David Cameron has said he will use Tuesday's visit to raise his concerns about the case.

He wrote: "We continue to press for evidence for a full, impartial and independent investigation into the allegations. The absence of an independent medical examination remains a concern.

"During the state visit of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan there will be opportunities to raise a wide range of issues including concerns about this and other consular cases."

'Pretty terrifying'

The BBC's world affairs correspondent Richard Galpin says the fact the case is going to be raised is "pretty significant", especially as the Gulf state is a very important strategic partner.

He said the men's families were all relieved they had not been convicted for dealing, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

It was understood the men were going to appeal against the sentences, he added, but the families were hoping they would receive a pardon from the president.

It is claimed the torture took place in the desert, where the men were initially taken after their arrest, and subsequently in hotel rooms.

Grant Cameron's mother, Tracy, said her son and his friends were put through "a pretty terrifying ordeal".

"Grant was separated from his friends, driven around the desert, beaten, kicked, punched, tasered and a gun was held to his head and he was told he was going to die," she said.

"They were taken back to their hotel. It does appear they were separated from each other and each taken to a different room.

"Karl was laid out on the bed, his trousers were stripped down and electric shocks were administered to his testicles while he was blindfolded."

Suneet Jeerh's sister, Davena Kumar, told the BBC her brother was given electric shock treatment.

"His whole spine was electrocuted quite badly. Even now you can see where his back is still not the same," she said.

Reprieve says the men were forced to sign documents in Arabic - a language none of them understands - and the statements were used as evidence.

Williams and Cameron are both from Wanstead, in north-east London, while Jeerh is from Ilford, east London.


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Bangladesh rescuers' hopes fade

29 April 2013 Last updated at 05:36 ET
Rescue workers release a garment worker from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building

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"There's a man in there. He's been trapped for five days." Andrew North goes inside the Dhaka ruins as time runs out.

Rescue work on a collapsed building in Bangladesh has entered a sixth day, but officials say they no longer expect to find any survivors.

Heavy lifting gear is now being used to raise slabs of concrete at the Rana Plaza garment factory, where at least 380 died after Wednesday's collapse.

A fire disrupted rescue work on Sunday.

The owner of the building is facing charges of negligence, along with two government engineers who were involved in approving its design.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Oh Allah! How am I going to feed and raise my daughters?"

End Quote Victim's widow

On Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited the site for the first time, as well as visiting some of the survivors in hospital.

Bangladesh news site BDNews24 said she had assured the injured they would receive help from the government.

At least 3,000 are estimated to have been in the Rana Plaza building when it collapsed. About 2,430 are now known to have survived but hundreds are dead or missing.

On Sunday night, rescuers working deep inside the rubble were told to leave, as cranes were brought in to lift heavy blocks of fallen concrete.

Continue reading the main story

What Bangladesh's media are saying

An editorial in the Daily Star says it is "unfortunate" that Bangladeshi garment manufacturers "have convoluted the idea of 'competitive' and 'cheap'. And while the producers have been trying to be so, it is the workers that have been bearing the brunt of this in terms of poor wages and through their lives."

Also in the Daily Star, Hameeda Hossain writes: "Even as we mourn the dead, whose poorly paid labour contributed to profits from Bangladesh' export garments, it is time to question why the state has repeatedly ignored violation of laws, why regulatory mechanisms fail to monitor systemic failures, why political patronage confers impunity for corporate crimes."

Muhammad Q Islam writes for bdnews24 that the disaster could be a sign Bangladesh needs to rethink its economic model: "Despite gains, we still have a 47 million strong army of very poor people who will be willing to take all the risks that culminate in injury and death, both at home and abroad, to improve their lot. Our economic policies explicitly rely on continued availability of this work force to fuel our economic growth."

Fariha Sarawat says in the Dhaka Tribune that while buyers should take some moral responsibility for such disasters "the state aids and abates this hostile environment by repeatedly siding with the interests of the manufacturers, instead of the workers - it has failed to punish a single manufacturer whose negligence and greed have resulted in the death of workers".

"We are proceeding cautiously. If there is still a soul alive, we will try to rescue that person,'' army spokesman Shahinul Islam told reporters.

"We are giving the highest priority to saving people, but there is little hope of finding anyone alive."

Fire brigade chief Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan said crews had seen bodies lying on the ground inside, but that "no-one was seen alive".

Rescue co-ordinators said that work with heavy-lifting gear would be done carefully to avoid mutilating bodies trapped under the debris.

Rubble fire

On Sunday afternoon, a fire halted rescue work at the building. The presence of clothing in the garment factory may have worsened the blaze, correspondents say.

Four firefighters were taken to hospital.

The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan says rescuers had been trying to free a trapped woman for a number of hours when the fire began, but they later reported she had not survived.

Building owner Mohammed Sohel Rana was arrested on Sunday near the Indian border.

He had gone on the run after the eight-storey building collapsed, with several thousand workers inside.

According to the head of the team which tracked down Mr Rana, he had hidden in several places since disappearing.

Continue reading the main story

Bangladesh's economy

  • A total population of some 150.4m, 88% under the age of 55.
  • GDP in 2012 was around $110bn - the ready-made garment (RMG) industry makes up 80% of all exports, totalling more than $15bn in 2012-13 financial year.
  • About four million people are directly employed in the RMG industry, most of them women, earning an average monthly salary of roughly $40.

"He went into hiding in different areas and changed locations regularly. Besides Dhaka, he stayed in two or three districts outside of the city," said Mokhlesur Rahman of the Rapid Action Battalion

"He reached the border with India. There was a possibility that he could have managed to escape into India within a very short space of time.

"Based on a tip-off, we hurriedly flew to Jessore in a helicopter. He was arrested at the checkpoint at Benapole in Jessore."

Bangladeshi TV later showed Mr Rana in handcuffs after being flown back to Dhaka by helicopter.

Local government minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak announced the arrest by loudspeaker at the site of the collapse, to cheers from rescue workers.

A total of six people, including three owners of factories operating in the building, have now been arrested.

Anger at the building's collapse has triggered days of violent protests in Dhaka.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers that benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

But the industry has been widely criticised for its low pay and limited rights given to workers and for the often dangerous working conditions in garment factories.


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Powerful blast in central Prague

29 April 2013 Last updated at 05:44 ET

A large explosion has damaged a building in the centre of the Czech capital Prague.

The area around the explosion in Divadelni St has been sealed off by police. At least a dozen people have been injured by the blast, eyewitnesses and emergency services say.

Emergency services say that some people may be trapped in the rubble.

Police say that the blast, which blew the windows out of nearby buildings, was most likely caused by a gas leak.

The site of the explosion is close to the Vlatva river, and near the country's National Theatre.

A police spokesman said that there had been about 15 people in the building, which included an office of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and an art gallery, Reuters news agency reports.


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PR guru Clifford vows to clear name

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 27 April 2013 | 16.50

26 April 2013 Last updated at 23:00 ET
Max Clifford

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Max Clifford: "The allegations are completely false"

PR guru Max Clifford has vowed to clear his name in court after being charged with 11 indecent assaults allegedly committed between 1966 and 1985.

The alleged offences relate to seven different women and girls ranging in age from 14 to 19.

Mr Clifford, 70, from Hersham, Surrey says the claims are "completely false".

He was arrested in December under Operation Yewtree - set up following allegations about Jimmy Savile - but his arrest was unrelated to Savile.

Mr Clifford will appear in court next month.

Operation Yewtree has three strands. One concerns Savile's crimes exclusively, while another relates to allegations against Savile and others.

The third strand, under which Mr Clifford was arrested, concentrates on accusations unconnected to the Savile investigations but which emerged as a result of the publicity surrounding Savile.

Mr Clifford was not charged over three further allegations as there was "insufficient evidence to authorise charges", the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Mr Clifford denied the allegations against him.

He said: "The allegations in respect of which I have been charged are completely false and I have made this clear to the police during many, many hours of interviews.

"Nevertheless a decision has been taken to charge me with 11 offences involving seven women, the most recent of which is 28 years ago and the oldest 47 years ago.

"I have never indecently assaulted anyone in my life and this will become clear during the course of the proceedings."

Mr Clifford, who was first arrested on 6 December 2012, described the situation as "living a 24/7 nightmare".

Later speaking to Sky News, he added that since the charges had emerged he had received hundreds of calls from people wishing to express their support for himself and his family.

"This has made it so much easier to cope with," he said.

Scotland Yard said he was charged after answering bail at a London police station following advice from the CPS.

Mr Clifford was later released on bail and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 28 May.


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New MMR jab clinic in measles fight

26 April 2013 Last updated at 23:38 ET

A second health board is opening a drop-in measles vaccination clinic in south Wales later, amid warnings of a likely outbreak in north Wales.

It comes as a million pupils in England who missed MMR jabs are targeted in a catch-up campaign to curb the threat.

A drop-in clinic opens in Llanelli on Saturday, the centre of 65 cases since the beginning of the year.

Four hospitals in and around Swansea are hosting MMR drop-in vaccination clinics for a fourth weekend.

The number of cases in the Swansea-based epidemic could pass 1,000 over the weekend if current trends continue.

Continue reading the main story

Whilst I understand why people have historically had reservations about immunising their children we now have a very different situation"

End Quote Andrew Jones Director of public health for north Wales

The outbreak is centred on the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board area - which covers Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, southern parts of Powys and eastern parts of Carmarthenshire.

High rates of the disease have also been seen in Neath Port Talbot and north Powys.

Eighty-three of the 942 confirmed cases have needed hospital care since the outbreak began in November.

Further tests will be carried out on a 25-year-old Swansea man who died at his flat in the city while suffering from measles after post-mortem examination results were inconclusive.

Special measures to tackle the disease are also in place in Llanelli on Saturday with a drop-in centre at the town's Elizabeth Williams Clinic.

It follows a drive launched on Friday to vaccinate an estimated 4,000 schoolchildren across the three counties of neighbouring Hywel Dda Health Board area.

Health board director Teresa Owen said youngsters in all secondary schools in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire will be offered the MMR jab.

She said: "Due to Llanelli's close proximity to the outbreak centred in Swansea the programme will begin in the east of Carmarthenshire and is due to be completed across all three counties within four weeks."

Meanwhile, Public Health Wales has warned that is is "was only a matter of time" before the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area in north Wales sees measles cases unless more children and young adults are vaccinated against the disease.

The health board has arranged vaccination sessions at all secondary schools in north Wales. Primary schools that have a vaccination rate of less than 90% are also being targeted.

Andrew Jones, director of public health for north Wales, said: "I'm worried that 10% of our young people are at risk of catching this potentially fatal disease.

"Whilst I understand why people have historically had reservations about immunising their children we now have a very different situation.

We are very vulnerable and if we wait until cases start to appear here it will be too late to prevent the spread across the north.

Epidemics

"The vaccine is safe, the needles are tiny and the jab takes seconds; it is never too late to catch up on missed jabs.''

Health officials have warned epidemics similar to the one in Swansea could occur anywhere.

A £20m catch-up campaign in England already has 1.2 million vaccines ready to go amid concerns that that a generation of children have low levels of protection against measles after the MMR scare more than a decade ago.

The campaign aims to vaccinate children yet to be protected with the MMR - measles, mumps and rubella - jab by September.

Run through GPs, schools and community groups, it will focus on children aged 10 to 16.


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Welby raps City 'entitlement' ethos

27 April 2013 Last updated at 03:26 ET

The City of London has been affected by a "culture of entitlement" at variance with what others think reasonable, the new Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

But the Most Reverend Justin Welby told the BBC business morality was in many ways much better than in the past.

He also defended his description of the UK's economic situation as a depression rather than a recession.

Asked if this had upset Number 10, the archbishop said: "Sometimes feathers get ruffled. I mean - that's life."

The archbishop - a former oil industry executive - is a member of the cross-party Banking Standards Commission.

He told BBC Radio 4's the Week in Westminster there should be exams for those who want to work in the banking industry and suggested employees could be overseen by a professional body.

He said that as banks "have the capacity to have such an impact on the wider economy" then specific training should be necessary.

"Banks are incredibly complicated things, it is one of the most demanding and complicated areas of management going. The idea that people can hold hugely responsible positions in them without any kind of formal training seems to a number of us as quite surprising."

Regional banks

He said: "I think in banking, in particular, and in the City of London, a culture of entitlement has affected a number of areas, not universally by any means, in which it seemed to disconnect from what people saw as reasonable in the rest of the world."

Archbishop Welby has proposed recapitalising a major bank and breaking it up to create regional banks.

But he declined in the radio interview with Financial Times political editor George Parker to name which institution he had in mind.

Archbishop Welby noted that economic activity had been "significantly below" the levels of 2007 for "quite a long time".

He said he did not know whether his use of the term "depression" had annoyed "people in Number 10".

"Historically, depressions have been recognised as lengthy periods in which the economy did not get back to its previous level of activity before a recession set in," he said.

"So 1929 to 1932 is the great example. There was a big one towards the end of the 19th Century.

"We are still significantly below where we were in 2007 in terms of economic activity, of GDP, and that's quite a long time of being below.

"Now, I'm not pointing any fingers at anyone in particular and saying it's so-and-so's fault or so-and-so's fault, it's simply a measurable fact coming from the national statistics."

'Social implications'

The archbishop acknowledged that part of his mission may be to inject "more morality" into the City of London.

He said: "My key mission is to lead the Church in worshipping Jesus Christ and encouraging people to believe in him and follow him. That's my mission.

"The Christian gospel has always had strong social implications and one of them is around the common good and it's one of the key areas in which the Church of England focuses.

"So issues of how the City of London, which is so important and so full of very gifted people, how that behaves in relation to the common good is very key, not to the whole thing that I'm about or the Church is about, but to how we express the implications of that in day to day life."

Parker said the archbishop could have withdrawn from the banking commission when he took up his role, but opted to stay involved. He now had three "pulpits" - the Church, the House of Lords and the banking commission.

BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins says the cities of London and Westminster are growing used to an archbishop who produces plans for restructuring financial services and a regular commentary on economic growth.

The interview can be heard on the Week in Westminster on BBC Radio 4 at 11:00 BST on Saturday 27 April


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Arrests over Dhaka building collapse

27 April 2013 Last updated at 04:28 ET
Bangladeshi soldiers stand in the rubble at the site of a building that collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh

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Rescue efforts continue at the collapsed building in Savar near Dhaka

Two owners of garment factories in the building that collapsed on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka have surrendered to police.

Mahbubur Rahman Tapas and Balzul Samad Adnan are suspected of forcing staff to work in the eight-storey building, ignoring warnings about cracks.

At least 336 people are known to have died after the Rana Plaza in the suburb of Savar collapsed on Wednesday.

On Saturday morning, at least 24 more people were rescued from the rubble.

Rescuers and volunteers, who worked through the night, cheered as they were brought to safety.

Continue reading the main story

I have just seen a woman pulled alive from deep inside the rubble of the Rana Plaza, four days since this huge garment factory complex collapsed.

She was crying as she emerged into the light on what was once the roof of the building. Rescuers shouted Allahu Akbar (God is great) as she was brought up on a rope and then carried away on a stretcher.

Emergency personnel say up to 14 more people are still trapped on what was the fifth floor of the building and work is under way to free them.

Hundreds of volunteers are still helping army and emergency services. Bodies are also still being retrieved from this massive tangle of concrete and metal.

There have been more clashes with police and protesters near the site as anger simmers over the disaster.

We passed dozens of riot police on the drive here, some were guarding other nearby garment factories following attacks on several others.

Earlier, rescue teams said they had located about 40 survivors on the collapsed third and fifth floors of the building.

Officials said they were working to extricate the remaining survivors and had passed oxygen cylinders and water to those still trapped.

More bodies of victims were also retrieved overnight and on Saturday morning.

Some 3,000 people are believed to have been working in the building at the time of the collapse and about 600 are still missing.

Watching the operation are hundreds of relatives of those still missing, many clutching photographs of their loved ones.

Abul Basar wept as he awaited news of his wife who worked in one of the garment factories.

"My son says that his mother will come back some day, she must return," he cried.

'Negligence'

Mr Tapas and Mr Adnan, the owners of the New Wave Buttons and New Wave Style factories, turned themselves in to police in the early hours of Saturday.

Deputy chief of Dhaka police Shyami Mukherjee said the two are accused of causing "death due to negligence", according the AFP news agency.

The owners reportedly told their employees to return to work on Wednesday, even though cracks were visible in the building a day earlier.

Three other clothing factories were reportedly operating in the building.

Dhaka police said on Saturday they were also questioning two engineers involved in the building.

The owner of Rana Plaza, Mohammed Sohel Rana, is reported to have gone into hiding.

"Those who're involved, especially the owner who forced the workers to work there, will be punished," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told lawmakers on Friday.

"Wherever he is, he will be found and brought to justice," the prime minister added.

There is widespread anger in Bangladesh over the disaster and fresh clashes between police and protesters erupted again on Saturday.

On Friday, police used tear-gas and rubber bullets to break up crowds that had blocked roads, set fire to buses and attacked textile factories.

Protesters are demanding that the government arrests all those responsible for the disaster and improves conditions for garment workers.

Police are guarding other garment factories in the area.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers that benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

But the industry has been widely criticised for its low pay and limited rights given to workers and for the often dangerous working conditions in garment factories.

Primark, a clothes retailer with a large presence in Britain, confirmed that one of its suppliers was on the second floor of the Rana Plaza, and said it would work with other retailers to review standards.

Labour rights groups say the companies have a moral duty to ensure their suppliers are providing safe conditions for their employees.


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Boeing Dreamliner takes off again

27 April 2013 Last updated at 04:36 ET

An Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner has taken off from Addis Ababa, the first commercial flight by the Boeing aircraft since all 787s were grounded in January.

The 50 planes around the world were grounded due to battery malfunctions that saw one 787 catch fire in the US.

Over the past week teams of Boeing engineers have been fitting new batteries to the aircraft.

This was after aviation authorities approved the revamped battery design.

The Ethiopian Airlines plane took off at 09:45 local time (07:45 GMT) en route to Nairobi in Kenya, a two-hour flight.

Engineering team

Each 787 has two of the lithium-ion batteries which caused problems.

In addition to new versions of the batteries which run at a much cooler temperature, the batteries are now enclosed in stainless steel boxes.

These boxes have a ventilation pipe that goes directly to the outside of the plane. Boeing says this means than in the unlikely event of any future fire or smoke, it would not affect the rest of the aircraft.

Continue reading the main story

The two-hour flight from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to Nairobi in Kenya is not normally a flight that would make headline news around the world.

But this journey is special, because it should mark the end of an incredibly damaging chapter for Boeing's flagship airliner.

I'll be talking to passengers on board the flight, and it'll be fascinating to see how they feel about flying on a plane that was grounded across the globe only last January after one battery caught fire and another overheated, forcing an emergency landing.

Boeing and its customers, who include British Airways, Virgin and Thomson, will be desperate to put the whole episode behind them.

Boeing said it put 200,000 engineer hours into fixing the problem, with staff working round the clock.

On Thursday, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a formal "air worthiness" directive allowing revamped 787s to fly.

Japanese airlines, which have been the biggest customers for the new-generation aircraft, are expected to begin test flights on Sunday.

A total of 300 Boeing engineers, pooled into 10 teams, have in the past week been fitting the new batteries and their containment systems around the world.

Boeing is expected to complete repairs on all 50 of the grounded Dreamliners by the middle of May.

In addition to the Dreamliners in service with airlines, Boeing has upgraded the 787s it has continued to make at its factory in Seattle since January.

The Dreamliner entered service in 2011. Half of the plane is made from lightweight composite materials, making it more fuel efficient than other planes of the same size.

The two lithium-ion batteries are not used when the 787 is in flight.

They are operational when the plane is on the ground and its engines are not turned on, and are used to power the aircraft's brakes and lights.

Dreamliner battery

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Boeing engineer Rich Horigan explains how the battery problem was fixed


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American faces trial in North Korea

27 April 2013 Last updated at 05:49 ET

A US citizen will be tried soon on charges including attempting to overthrow North Korea's government, the North's official news agency says.

KCNA says that Pae Jun-Ho has admitted the charges, without specifying when the verdict will be handed down.

Pae Jun-Ho, who is known in the US as Kenneth Bae, was held last year after entering North Korea as a tourist.

His case comes at a time of high tension between Pyongyang and Washington.

This follows North Korea's third nuclear test in February.

'Proved by evidence'

"The preliminary inquiry into crimes committed by American citizen Pae Jun-Ho closed," the KCNA said in a report on Saturday.

"In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) with hostility toward it.

"His crimes were proved by evidence," the report added. "He will soon be taken to the Supreme Court of the DPRK to face judgement."

Continue reading the main story

For North Korea, Bae is a bargaining chip in dealing with the US "

End Quote Koh Yu-hwan Dongguk University, Seoul

It is not clear what sort of sanction Mr Pae, 44, might face, although North Korea's criminal code provides for life imprisonment or the death penalty for similar offences.

North Korea has arrested several US citizens in recent years, including journalists and Christians accused of proselytism. They have been released after intervention by senior American public figures.

Mr Pae, believed to be a tour operator of Korean descent, is the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter as well as former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson have all been involved in mediation efforts to gain the release of previous American detainees.

Industrial complex

In one of the most high-profile cases, Mr Clinton negotiated the release in 2009 of two US journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had been found guilty of entering North Korea illegally.

"For North Korea, Bae is a bargaining chip in dealing with the US," Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul told Associated Press news agency.

"The North will use him in a way that helps bring the US to talks when the mood slowly turns toward dialogue,'' he said.

Mr Pae was reportedly arrested in November after arriving in Rason - a special economic zone in the north-east of the country near the Russian border.

Washington has so far not publicly commented on the latest development.

The US and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations. The Swedish embassy in Pyongyang represents the US.

In a further sign of the continuing tension on the Korean peninsula, South Korea has begun withdrawing its remaining workers from the Kaesong joint industrial zone in North Korea.

The complex, once considered a symbol of reconciliation, lies just north of the military demarcation line dividing the two Koreas.

South Korean officials said 126 people had left, with the final 48 expected home by Monday.

North Korea has already withdrawn its 53,000 workers and blocked access to the zone in response to joint South Korean and US military exercises.


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Armed drones operating from Britain

27 April 2013 Last updated at 05:47 ET

Armed drone aircraft have been operated remotely from Britain for the first time, the Ministry of Defence has said.

It said Reaper drones had flown missions controlled from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, where campaign groups are expected to protest against the practice later.

The MoD said it respected people's rights to protest peacefully.

The drones are mainly used for surveillance, but could use weapons if commanded to by their pilots in the UK.

Campaigners say the switching of control of flights to the UK marks a "critical expansion in the nation's drones programme".

They are calling on the government to abandon the use of drones, claiming they make it easier for politicians to launch military interventions, and have increased civilian casualties.

The MoD has defended their use in Afghanistan, saying it has saved the lives of countless military personnel and civilians.

The 10 Reaper aircraft are all based in Afghanistan to support UK and coalition forces and can carry 500lb bombs and Hellfire missiles for strikes on insurgents.

They are piloted remotely, but launched and landed with human help at Kandahar airbase.

BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt says the "overwhelming majority" of missions the British drones are used for involve surveillance.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

The RAF is not keen on the term "drone". It prefers the use of "Remotely Piloted Air Systems", RPAS, to make clear that these are not autonomous systems: they still need a human being to fly and command the mission - and crucially, decide whether or not to use weapons, and whether a strike can take place under the UK's rules of engagement.

But drones are playing an increasingly important role in air warfare and air support, with many saying the Joint Strike Fighter - currently being developed in the US - is likely to be the last manned fighter aircraft bought by the UK.

After that, there will be no more "magnificent men in their flying machines".

She says the MoD told her British drones are not being used for targeted assassinations, unlike the Predator drones used by the US in places such as Pakistan.

Estimates suggest CIA drone attacks in Pakistan killed up to 3,533 people between 2004 and 2013.

About 890 of them were civilians and the vast majority of strikes were carried out under President Barack Obama's administration, according to research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Earlier this year the UN launched an inquiry into the impact on civilians of drone strikes and other targeted killings, saying a proper legal framework was required to provide accountability.

The MoD says that when weapons are used, the same rules of engagement are followed that govern the use of weapons on manned aircraft.

Previously, RAF personnel would control the drones from Creech Air Force Base, in Nevada, US.

In October last year, the RAF created 13 Squadron based at RAF Waddington south of Lincoln, where about 100 personnel include pilots, systems operators and engineers that control missions over Afghanistan.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

They present an aerial occupation, almost a form of collective punishment, that causes huge concern and distress to people living in those communities"

End Quote Kat Craig Reprieve

In a statement issued on Thursday, the RAF said it had commenced supporting the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan ground troops with "armed intelligence and surveillance missions" remotely piloted from RAF Waddington.

Air Vice Marshall Sir John Walker, a former chief of defence intelligence, said "having a capability like the drones on the order of battle can only be a good thing" because they could help troops on the ground who are in trouble, if necessary.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, he likened drones to Polaris submarines which, he said, provided an effective nuclear deterrent without being used.

He said terrorists in parts of Afghanistan operate in "a condition of sanctuary", prompting him to ask: "How are you going to get them without something like a drone approach?"

Meanwhile, Kat Craig, legal director of human rights charity Reprieve, said the use of drones was a blight on the communities the drones monitor.

"The nature of drones means they hover above communities 24 hours a day, seven days a week," she said.

She went on: "They present an aerial occupation, almost a form of collective punishment, that causes huge concern and distress to people living in those communities.

"In addition to the terrorising of populations that we see living under drones, there is real concern about the accuracy of the targeting."

Several anti-war groups including CND, War on Want, the Drone Campaign Network, and the Stop the War coalition have planned a march and rally outside RAF Waddington on Saturday.

Chris Nineham, vice-chairman of the Stop the War Coalition, said: "I think people feel that there is something sinister and disturbing about the idea that someone can attack a foreign country thousands of miles away with, simply, the push of a button and this technology that is being introduced is giving carte blanche to governments to fight wars behind the backs of people with no public scrutiny or accountability.

"That's the fundamental problem."

The route of the march from South Common along the A15 to the peace camp site opposite RAF Waddington will see the road closed in phases to limit inconvenience to motorists.

An MoD spokesman said: "We fully respect people's right to protest peacefully and within the law and would do nothing to prevent members of the public exercising their right to peaceful protest.

"Nevertheless, we have a duty to protect public property, and to ensure that we meet our operational needs.

"The MoD has a duty to maintain security at all defence installations and uses all lawful means to do so, including the right to seek injunctions against any person who persists in trespassing on MoD property."

Eyes in the sky
MQ-1B Predator MQ-9 Reaper

Armed reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition

Primary function

Hunter-killer weapon system

16.8m (55ft)

Wingspan

20.1m (66ft)

8.2m (27ft)

Length

11m (36ft)

204kg (450lb)

Payload

1,701kg (3,750lb)

135-217kph (84-135 mph)

Cruise speed

370kph (230mph)

1,240k, (770 miles)

Range

1,850k (1,150 miles)

Two Hellfire missiles

Weapons

Combination of Hellfire, Paveway II and GBU-12 JDAM

Two: one pilot and one sensor operator; plus a mission co-ordinator when required

Crew

Two: one pilot and one sensor operator; plus a mission co-ordinator when required

$20m per system (includes four aircraft, ground control station and satellite link)

Unit cost

$53.5m per system (includes four aircraft, ground control station and satellite link)

130 -

Active force - USAF RAF

47 5 - rising to 10 in 2013


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CIA 'tracked Boston bomb suspect'

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 25 April 2013 | 16.50

24 April 2013 Last updated at 23:56 ET

One of the Boston bomb suspects was added to a terrorism database 18 months ago at the request of the CIA, officials have told US media.

The FBI has already said it investigated Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, but had found no evidence of a threat.

Tsarnaev was killed during a police chase last week. His brother Dzhokhar, 19, is in custody over the bombs.

Three people were killed and more than 260 wounded when two devices exploded at the Boston Marathon on 15 April.

A US politician earlier confirmed the bombs were set off by remote control.

But the devices were not sophisticated and apparently had to be triggered from a few streets away.

FBI 'not at fault'

Officials said Tamerlan Tsarnaev had been added to the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (Tide) on the request of the CIA.

The database contains as many as 745,000 entries, and individuals on that list are not necessarily on the so-called terrorist watch list.

Continue reading the main story
  • Sons of Chechen refugees from the troubled Caucasus region of southern Russia
  • Family is thought to have moved to the US in 2002 from Russian republic of Dagestan
  • They lived in the Massachusetts town of Cambridge, home to Harvard University
  • Dzhokhar, 19, was awarded a scholarship to pursue further education; he wanted to become a brain surgeon, according to his father
  • Tamerlan, 26, was an amateur boxer who had reportedly taken time off college to train for a competition; he described himself as a "very religious" non-drinker and non-smoker

The Russian authorities had alerted US counterparts to the activities of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, whose family has its origins in the war-torn Russian republic of Chechnya.

About six months before the CIA requested his name be added to Tide, the FBI asked the Russians for more information about Tamerlan Tsarnaev but received none, and closed its investigation.

The authorities earlier said the US intelligence community had no information about threats to the marathon ahead of the 15 April attacks.

After a classified briefing in the House intelligence committee on Wednesday, Democratic Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger said he believed the FBI was not at fault.

"I feel, based on the testimony today, that the FBI did exactly what they would do and they followed through the protocols that were necessary once they got that information," Mr Ruppersberger told reporters.

He also said he had been told the bombs were detonated with a "garage door opener-type of device".

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was injured during the police manhunt and remains in hospital in a fair condition.

Officers captured him as he hid in a boat covered by a tarpaulin in a garden in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Officials initially had said he exchanged gunfire with police for more than an hour before he was captured on Friday.

Democratic Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger

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Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger: ''The FBI... followed through the protocols"

But the Associated Press quoted two unnamed officials as saying Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been unarmed when he was captured.

Suspects' parents arriving

The younger brother has been charged in hospital with using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death.

He could be sentenced to death if convicted on either count.

In bedside questioning, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has said he and his brother were angry about the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the brothers are not believed to have had direct contact with a militant organisation, politicians said after closed-door briefings.

It is suspected the brothers became radicalised online.

The suspects' parents, Anzor Tsarnaev and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, are due to arrive in the US on Thursday, Russian media reported.

The Tsarnaev family has origins in the predominantly Muslim republic of Chechnya in southern Russia.

The brothers had been living in the US for about a decade at the time of the attack.

In 2012, Tamerlan Tsarnaev spent six months with relatives in Dagestan, another Russian republic, which has an Islamist militant insurgency.


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Cameron policy role for Jo Johnson

25 April 2013 Last updated at 04:15 ET

The prime minister has appointed Jo Johnson - the younger brother of Mayor of London Boris Johnson - as the head of his policy unit.

Jo Johnson was elected as MP for Orpington, in London, in May 2010.

Mr Cameron, who is also setting up a new advisory board on policy, has been accused of failing to listen to his MPs and Tory activists in the past.

BBC political correspondent Vicki Young said he was making a clear attempt to improve communication with his party.

It followed bruising battles over gay marriage, Europe, planning laws and Lords reform, she added.

'Thatcher-style'

She said the appointment of Jo Johnson, 41, who like his brother and the prime minister was educated at Eton and Oxford, was being seen as an attempt to give Conservative policy-making a sharper edge.

Mr Johnson, a former Financial Time journalist who was a contemporary at Oxford of Chancellor George Osborne, will also be appointed as a junior minister at the Cabinet Office, where Oliver Letwin leads on government policy.

Continue reading the main story
  • Younger brother of London Mayor Boris Johnson
  • Educated at Eton and Balliol College Oxford, where he read modern history and was a member of the Bullingdon Club with George Osborne
  • Worked for the Financial Times
  • Elected as MP for Orpington in 2010, with a majority of over 17,000
  • Appointed as a government whip in David Cameron's last reshuffle
  • Married to Guardian journalist Amelia Gentleman. The couple have two children

Mr Cameron's new Conservative parliamentary advisory board on policy will balance the experience of MPs such as Peter Lilley - who served in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet - with prominent roles for several younger backbenchers.

Some of them have led parliamentary rebellions against the government, but they're also regarded as among the most talented politicians on the Conservative benches.

Their task will be to come up with new ideas and give the party a clearer sense of direction in the run-up to the next general election.

They include Mr Cameron's former press secretary, George Eustice, former schools minister Nick Gibb and MP for Wolverhampton South West Paul Uppal.

Jesse Norman, who was a leading critic of House of Lords reform, will also sit on the panel, as will Battersea MP Jane Ellison and Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake Berry.

A Conservative source told the Telegraph: "These appointments clearly represent a more political policy operation and a more Thatcher-style Downing Street Policy Unit.

"The advisory board will strengthen the connective tissue between Downing Street and the Parliamentary party, and Jo Johnson will be a great asset in helping the prime minister drive Conservative policy priorities throughout government."


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Measles jab plan targets 1m children

25 April 2013 Last updated at 04:40 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

One million schoolchildren in England who missed MMR jabs are to be targeted by a vaccination plan aimed at curbing the growing threat of measles.

Health officials warn epidemics similar to the one in Swansea, which has seen nearly 900 cases, could occur anywhere.

There are fears that a generation of children have low levels of protection after the MMR scare a decade ago.

The catch-up campaign, run through GPs, schools and community groups, will focus on children aged 10 to 16.

The campaign is expected to cost £20m and the Department of Health already has 1.2 million vaccines ready to go.

It will aim to vaccinate children yet to be protected with the MMR - measles, mumps and rubella - jab by September.

Measles is a highly contagious disease characterised by a high fever and a rash. In one in 15 cases it can lead to severe complications, such as pneumonia and inflammation of the brain, and can be fatal.

Amelia Down sits on the lap of her mother Helen as she receives the combined Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination

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In 2012, there were nearly 2,000 cases of measles in England - the highest figure for nearly two decades.

This year could be another record with cases already higher than at the same point last year.

Discredited research

Children aged between 10 and 16 are the most likely to have missed jabs when research linked MMR with autism and caused vaccination rates to plummet. The research has since been discredited.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Travel back in time to the mid-90s and measles was not a worry. It had been effectively eradicated in the UK with cases only coming from abroad.

It seems remarkable that two decades later such campaigns are needed.

Discredited claims by Andrew Wakefield of a link between MMR and autism led to vaccination rates falling to 80% by 2005, far below the level needed to prevent the spread of the disease.

Those unvaccinated children are now entering a vulnerable period in their lives as they move to secondary school.

It is a significant moment as mixing with far more pupils significantly increases the risk of infection.

Being older also means the dangers of complications will be higher.

Vaccination rates have since recovered to record levels. It suggests measles will be confined to the Wakefield generation and not be a long-term problem.

The most urgent need for vaccination is in the third-of-a-million completely unprotected children in that age group. They should be given their first MMR jab before the next school year and a booster jab later.

A similar number of children who had only their first MMR vaccine will be targeted with their booster.

The aim is to give a further third-of-a-million children in other age groups, who are not totally protected, their vaccines as well.

Prof David Salisbury, the director of immunisation at the Department of Health, said parents needed to act to prevent outbreaks on their doorstep.

"Swansea is the wake-up call for parents and it tells us just how infectious measles is - it just spreads like wildfire.

"If you think your child has not had one or even two doses of MMR, for goodness' sake contact your GP and get it sorted out.

"The message from Swansea is very clear and it is trivialised at the risk of your children's health."

Similar plans are already under way in Wales.

Both Scotland and Northern Ireland maintained relatively high MMR uptake but NHS boards in Scotland are to write to parents of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children aged 10 to 17 with an invitation to attend for vaccination over the next few weeks.

Danger zones

Figures from Public Health England show there have been 587 confirmed cases of measles in the first three months of 2013.

Measles outbreak: In graphics 'Make measles jab mandatory' call

A fifth of cases needed hospital treatment and 15 people developed complications such as pneumonia, meningitis and gastroenteritis.

The cases were mostly in the north-east and north-west of England, even though the north of the country generally maintained high levels of vaccination at the height of the MMR scare.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said: "We have potential for school outbreaks in many areas of the country.

Continue reading the main story

Mandatory vaccination

Scientist Dr Craig Venter, who was one of the first to sequence the human genome, has called for all unvaccinated children to be banned from school.

He told the Times that said such children were a "hazard to society".

It echoes calls Dr Paul Offit, a US-based measles expert, that vaccination should be mandatory.

He says such a policy, which can affect school admittance and job offers in the US, had prevented similar outbreaks there.

It is not compulsory as people can object on health, philosophical and religious grounds.

A similar scheme is not expected in the UK.

"The areas most likely to be affected would be London and the south and east of the country, where we know that the historical coverage was not as high."

Prof Salisbury said he worried about London because of the high density of people, who were rapidly moving.

He warned that children who received single jabs, instead of the combined MMR, may also need additional protection as there had been "major problems" with the quality and storage of some of the vaccines handed out.

He added that nobody should be considering single jabs now.

Dr Paul Cosford, the director for health protection at Public Health England, said: "Although nationally the numbers needing catch-up vaccination is quite large, there are relatively few in each local area.

"We are confident that local teams have the resources to identify and vaccinate those children most at risk."


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Spain unemployment hits record high

25 April 2013 Last updated at 04:43 ET

Spain's unemployment rate soared to a new record of 27.2% of the workforce in the first quarter of 2013, according to official figures.

The total number of unemployed people in Spain has now passed the six million figure, although the rate of the increase has slowed.

The figures underline Spain's struggle to emerge from an economic crisis which began five years ago.

A big demonstration in Madrid is being planned against the austerity measures.

On Friday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will unveil fiscal and policy measures aimed at halting recession in the eurozone's fourth-largest economy.

"These figures are worse than expected and highlight the serious situation of the Spanish economy as well as the shocking decoupling between the real and the financial economy," said Jose Luis Martinez, strategist at Citi.

Continue reading the main story

Next year we will have growth and jobs will be created in our country"

End Quote Mariano Rajoy Spanish prime minister

Last week, the International Monetary Fund cut its 2013 forecast for Spain's growth to a 1.6% contraction from 1.5% and said the unemployment rate would peak at 27% this year.

Peak reached?

The unemployment figure is the highest since at least 1976, the year after dictator Francisco Franco's death began Spain's transition to democracy.

The jobless rate, which stood at 7.9% in mid-2007, has risen relentlessly since the collapse in 2008 of a Spain's labour-intensive property boom.

On Wednesday, Mr Rajoy told parliament that the job situation for the entire year "will not be good, but it will be less bad than in the preceding years".

"Next year we will have growth and jobs will be created in our country," he said.

Meanwhile, in France, the second biggest eurozone economy, official figures to be released later on Thursday are also expected to show a record number of jobless workers.


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Frantic search for Dhaka survivors

25 April 2013 Last updated at 05:44 ET
Bangladeshi rescuers squeeze through a gap to help pull out survivors spotted in the debris of a building that collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka

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The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan reports: "Just a day before this incident there were complaints about cracks on the wall and also on some of the pillars"

A frantic search for survivors is continuing at a building outside the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, which collapsed, killing at least 175 people.

Rescue workers are working with volunteers to free survivors still believed to be trapped inside.

Tens of thousands of weeping family members are gathered at the site.

Police said the factory owners had ignored warnings not to allow their workers into the building after cracks were noticed on Tuesday.

The factory owners are now said to have gone into hiding. Police say that cases have been filed against the building owner and the owners of the factories for causing unlawful death.

The exact number of those trapped is not clear, but accounts from survivors and eyewitnesses suggest there may be hundreds still unaccounted for.

The disaster has prompted questions over Bangladesh's chronically poor safety standards.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers which benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced a national day of mourning on Thursday in memory of the victims.

Officials said the death toll had risen to 160 by late on Thursday morning, from an overnight figure of about 100 - and they warn it may rise still further.

Local media reported thousands of garment workers in other areas of Dhaka had taken to the streets and blocked roads to protest at the deaths of the workers in Savar.

'Like a pancake'

Some 2,000 people were in the Rana Plaza building in Savar, some 30km (20 miles) outside Dhaka, when it collapsed suddenly on Wednesday morning.

Fire-fighters and soldiers joined volunteers in the effort to locate survivors in the mangled wreckage of concrete and steel.

On Thursday, Army Brig Gen Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder said many people were still trapped in the building.

Rescue workers and volunteers have been using heavy machinery and their bare hands to free survivors.

A clearer picture of the rescue operation would be available by afternoon, he said.

Continue reading the main story
  • Nov 2012 - More than 100 workers die in a fire at a factory in Dhaka suburb of Tazreen
  • March 2012 - More than 100 people die as a ferry collides with an oil tanker and sinks
  • June 2010 - Four-storey building in Dhaka caves in, killing at least 25 people
  • April 2005 Another garment factory collapses in Savar, killing 73 people
  • May 2002 - Up to 500 people die when a river ferry sinks during a storm

Trapped workers can be heard inside the rubble, screaming for help. Food and water is being passed to survivors through gaps in the the rubble.

Lengths of textile that were earlier being cut into garments - many destined for Western consumers - were now being used as makeshift slides to evacuate survivors and corpses.

Mosammat Khursida wailed as she looked for her husband, AP reported.

"He came to work in the morning. I can't find him," she said. "I don't know where he is. He does not pick up his phone."

Lines of relatives filed by numbered bodies of victims, looking for their family members.

"Save us brother. I beg you brother. I want to live... It's so painful here ... I have two little children," Mohammad Altab, a garment worker trapped in the building told rescuers, according to AP.

Only the ground floor of the building remained intact, officials said.

"The whole building collapsed like a pancake within minutes. Most workers did not have any chance to escape," national fire department chief Ahmed Ali told AFP news agency.

Local hospitals were overwhelmed with more than 1,000 people injured.

Factory worker

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Bangladeshi factory worker: "In one minute everything collapsed"

Speaking at the scene, Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir said the building had violated construction codes and "the culprits would be punished".

There are reports that the building owner had illegally added three extra stories to the building.

'Catch-22'

In November, a fire at a garment factory in the Dhaka suburb of Tazreen drew international attention to working conditions in Bangladesh's textile industry.

Primark, a clothes retailer with a large presence in Britain, confirmed that one of its suppliers was on the second floor of the Rana Plaza.

It said it was "shocked and deeply saddened by the appalling incident" and that it would work with other retailers to review standards.

Discount giant Wal-Mart - which was found to be sourcing products from the Tazreen factory - said it was still trying to establish whether its goods were being produced at the Rana Plaza.

"We remain committed and are actively engaged in promoting stronger safety measures, and that work continues,'' said Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner.

A company called New Wave, with two factories in the building, supplies firms from around Europe, the US and Canada.

Meanwhile, Spanish retailer Mango said it had not been using any of the suppliers in the building but had been in talks with one of them to produce a batch of test products.

Edward Hertzman, a textiles broker based in New York, told Reuters news agency that pressure from US retailers to keep costs down was in part responsible for unsafe conditions.

"Bangladesh is the longest lead-time country and a difficult country to work in, so the only way it becomes competitive is by offering the lowest [cost]. That's the catch-22," he said.

"If the factories want to raise prices to make up for rising wages and costs, the buyers say, 'Oh why do we want to go to Bangladesh if I could go to China, Pakistan, Cambodia etc for a similar price?"

He said if Western companies really wanted safety standards to improve, they would have to accept that they need to start paying higher prices.


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Imaginary portraitist up for Turner

25 April 2013 Last updated at 05:01 ET

A portrait painter, whose subjects are imaginary, is one of four artists in contention for the 2013 Turner Prize.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye joins French installation artist Laure Prouvost, Britain's David Shrigley and the British-German performance artist Tino Sehgal on this year's shortlist.

This year's Turner exhibition will be held at Ebrington in Derry-Londonderry, 2013's UK City of Culture.

The winner - who will receive £25,000 - will be announced on 2 December.

The other shortlisted artists will each receive £5,000.

Established in 1984, the Turner Prize is awarded to a contemporary artist under 50, living, working or born in Britain, who is judged to have put on the best exhibition of the last 12 months.

Previous winners include Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley and last year's recipient, the video artist Elizabeth Price.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, who lives and works in London, is shortlisted for her Extracts and Verses exhibition at the Chisenhale Gallery.

Tubes of oil paint

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Born in 1977, she attended Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Falmouth College of Arts and the Royal Academy Schools.

According to the prize's organisers, Yiadom-Boakye's "intriguing" paintings "appear traditional but are in fact much more innovative".

"Her portraits of imaginary people use invented pre-histories and raise pertinent questions about how we read pictures in general, particularly with regard to black subjects."

Yiadom-Boakye is of Ghanaian descent and is the first black woman to be in contention for the award.

Glasgow-based David Shrigley is best known for his humorous line drawings, but also makes sculptures, photographs, paintings and animated films.

His work, which combines jokes and commentary, can be found on greetings cards, in books and in magazines, as well as in galleries.

His words have been used in recordings by David Byrne and Franz Ferdinand and he directed the video for Blur's 2009 track Good Song.

Born in Macclesfield in 1968, Shrigley is shortlisted for his solo exhibition Brain Activity, at London's Hayward Gallery.

The exhibition, said the Turner Prize organisers, was a "comprehensive overview" that revealed "his black humour, macabre intelligence and infinite jest".

Born in Lille in 1978, Laure Prouvost won the fourth Max Mara art prize for women in 2011 for her short films and installation work.

Based in London, she is shortlisted for her new work Wantee, featured in Tate Britain's Schwitters in Britain exhibition, and her two-part Max Mara art prize installation.

Her "unique" approach to film-making, said organisers, "employs strong story-telling, quick cuts, montage and deliberate misuse of language to create surprising and unpredictable work".

Born in 1976 and based in Berlin, Tino Sehgal has been shortlisted for his "pioneering" projects This Variation and These Associations.

The latter, staged last year at Tate Modern in London, invited the public to interact with volunteers in a "live installation" staged in the gallery's expansive Turbine Hall.

"Both structured and improvised, Seghal's intimate works consist purely of live encounters between people and demonstrate a keen sensitivity to their institutional context," said organisers.

"Through participatory means, they test the limits of artistic material and audience perception in a new and significant way."

This year's jury is chaired by Tate Britain director Penelope Curtis and includes the curator Annie Fletcher and the writer and lecturer Declan Long.

Long said the each of the four shortlisted artists represented "remarkable developments" in art.

"There's so much range here, it's fantastic," he told the BBC's arts editor Will Gompertz.

It is the first time the Turner Prize exhibition has ever been held outside England.


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Economy avoids triple-dip recession

25 April 2013 Last updated at 05:46 ET
Steph McGovern with a chart showing how GDP has behaved until now

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Steph McGovern explains how GDP works

The UK economy has avoided falling back into recession.

The Office for National Statistics said its preliminary estimates for gross domestic product (GDP), showed the economy grew by 0.3% in the first three months of the year.

The figure means the economy avoided two consecutive quarters of contraction - the definition of a recession.

The growth figure was better than expected and Chancellor George Osborne said it was an "encouraging sign".

There had been fears the UK would enter its third recession in five years, a so-called triple-dip recession.

Economists say the news should give a small psychological boost to consumers and businesses, but the broader picture of the economy remains the same.

The UK economy has been on a plateau since the financial crisis hit in 2008, with small spurts of growth and contraction.

'Making progress'
Continue reading the main story

Analysis

There were no doubt sighs of relief in the chancellor's office when these figures arrived 24 hours ago ahead of today's publication.

Growth of 0.3% is not much to write home about and there may be revisions in the light of subsequent data.

The overall picture, according to the ONS, is a flat economy. But the growth number was above expectations and there were no special factors like the Olympic effect to flatter the figures.

The dominant services sector provided much of the impetus, including a strong bounce-back for retail, hotels and restaurants.

In the end the cold weather proved to be no hindrance because North Sea oil and gas output was boosted to keep up with higher demand. Construction and manufacturing, however, were weaker.

After a difficult week with criticisms from the IMF and ahead of the Fund's visit to the UK next month, the chancellor will be grateful to have some growth to report.

The better-than-expected rise in GDP for the first quarter was largely down to strong growth in the services sector and a recovery in North Sea oil and gas output.

The ONS figures also showed that GDP had risen by 0.6% when compared with the first quarter of 2012, the strongest year-on-year increase since the end of 2011.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "Today's figures are an encouraging sign the economy is healing. Despite a tough economic backdrop, we are making progress. The deficit is down by a third, businesses have created over a million and a quarter new jobs, and interest rates are at record lows.

"We all know there are no easy answers to problems built up over many years, and I can't promise the road ahead will always be smooth, but by continuing to confront our problems head on, Britain is recovering and we are building an economy fit for the future," he added.

Matt Basi, from CMC Markets UK, said: "Growth of 0.3% is hardly cause for celebration, but may ease some of the pressure that has been piling on the government's austerity plans."

The chancellor has faced calls from the International Monetary Fund to rethink the pace of the austerity programme.

But the government insists its austerity measures are vital to bringing down borrowing, and guarantee growth in the long-term.

Poor growth has already led to two international credit rating agencies stripping the UK of its top-notch triple-A rating.

Labour MP John Mann, who sits on the Treasury select committee, said the GDP figures were nothing to celebrate.

"We're falling further and further behind our competitors and of course the big emerging economies - the Chinas, the Indias - they're galloping ahead of us. They're worrying if they're down to eight, nine per cent - they're seeing that as a crisis."

"We're in danger of celebrating 0.3%. That's the perspective we need to have. We are falling behind and we need some major shift in policy to turn that round," he added.

Strong services

The pound rose nearly 1% to $1.5414 against the US dollar on the news, its highest point in two months.

Continue reading the main story

What is GDP?

GDP, or gross domestic product, is arguably the most important of all economic statistics as it attempts to capture the state of the economy in one number.

Quite simply, if the GDP measure is up on the previous three months, the economy is growing. If it is negative it is contracting.

And two consecutive three-month periods of contraction mean an economy is in recession.

The services sector, which accounts for three-quarters of the economy, grew by 0.6% in the quarter, with a strong performance from hotels and restaurants.

Transport and communications also made a solid contribution with growth of 1.4%.

But there were some areas of continuing weakness. Construction activity fell 2.5% in the first quarter and remains more than 18% lower than it was before the start of the financial crisis in 2008.

Phil Orford, the chief executive at the Forum of Private Business said: "While the service sector looks to have led the way, the construction industry figure is more worrying, and shows the need to get projects moving at a quicker pace."

The size of the economy as a whole remains 2.6% below its pre-crisis peak.

"The recovery still faces significant obstacles ahead, with households still experiencing falling real pay and policymakers still struggling to get bank lending to rise," said Vicky Redwood, UK economist at Capital Economics.

"Today's figure offers some hope that things might finally be starting to move in the right direction again."


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'Cosmetic crisis' waiting to happen

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 24 April 2013 | 16.50

23 April 2013 Last updated at 21:05 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

Injections to plump up the skin are a "crisis waiting to happen" and should be available only on prescription, a UK review of cosmetic procedures has said.

It warned that dermal fillers, covered by only the same level of regulation as toothbrushes, could cause lasting harm.

The independent review added cosmetic surgery had been "trivialised". It also attacked "distasteful" companies for putting profit ahead of care.

The review has recommended a series of measures to better protect patients.

It was commissioned by the Department of Health in England, but the findings will be passed to health ministers throughout the UK.

From fillers to breast implants - the cosmetic procedures industry is booming. It was worth £750m in the UK in 2005, £2.3bn in 2010 and is forecast to reach £3.6bn by 2015.

But there is considerable concern that regulations have failed to keep pace - leaving patients vulnerable.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Anybody, anywhere, anytime can give a filler to anybody else, and that is bizarre"

End Quote Sir Bruce Keogh NHS Medical Director

The biggest growth is in non-surgical procedures such as fillers to tackle wrinkles, Botox and laser hair removal - the area the report describes as "almost entirely unregulated".

The advisory panel said the procedures, which could go horribly wrong, were being treated as casually as having highlights done at a lunchtime hairdresser's appointment and had become commonplace at "beauty parties".

Sarah Payne

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Former beauty clinic manager Sarah Payne recalls how a dermal filler treatment went badly wrong

Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS medical director for England who led the review, said: "The most striking thing is that anybody, anywhere, anytime can give a filler to anybody else, and that is bizarre."

At a European level, both medical devices such as breast implants and Botox, which is classed as a medicine, are regulated.

Fillers are deemed to have no medical purpose so are regulated in the same way as toothbrushes and ball-point pens. There are 190 different fillers available in Europe compared with just 14 in the US.

Bad practice
Continue reading the main story

Analysis

James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News


When you go for cosmetic surgery, you expect the same standard of care as for any other operation. The review makes it clear that this is not the case.

There have been widespread calls for reform since a health scare caused by faulty breast implants, made by the French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP).

Data on which women had been given PIP implants, let alone what had happened to them, was not kept. It was described as a "data-free zone".

And the problems are wider. Botox should be available only on prescription, but is far more readily available.

Calf and buttock implants are barely regulated at all. The same goes for dermal fillers.

The European Union is making moves to tighten the rules. However, changes are not expected for five more years.

Sir Bruce Keogh says: "I don't think we can wait, keeping our citizens at risk."

Sir Bruce also said cosmetic surgery deals, such as buy-one-get-one-free offers and handing out free breast surgery as prizes in raffles, were a "particularly distasteful" way of incentivising people to go under the knife.

There were also questions of safety. The review said there were no checks on surgeons' qualifications in some parts of the private sector, an issue made worse by more than half of cosmetic surgery being performed by "fly in, fly out" doctors - surgeons based abroad who fly into the UK to perform operations and then fly back out again.

The review recommends:

  • Legislation to classify fillers as prescription only
  • Formal qualifications for anyone who injects fillers or Botox
  • Register of everyone who performs surgical or non-surgical cosmetic interventions
  • Ban on special financial offers for surgery
  • Formal certificate of competence for cosmetic surgeons
  • A breast implant register to monitor patients
  • Patients' procedures must be approved by a surgeon not a salesperson
  • Compulsory insurance in case things go wrong
  • A pooled fund to help patients when companies go bust - similar to the travel industry

Dan Poulter, Health Minister for England, said he agreed "entirely" with the principles of the recommendations and there would be a full response in the summer.

"There is a significant risk of people falling into the hands of cowboy firms or individuals whose only aim is to make a quick profit. These people simply don't care about the welfare of the people they are taking money from.

"It is clear that it is time for the government to step in to ensure the public are properly protected."

Common sense

The review was started after a global health scare caused by breast implants made by the French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP).

The implants were filled with industrial grade silicone and had double the rupture rate of other implants.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Profits before patients, that's what happens. Surgery is sold like double glazing and it's totally wrong"

End Quote Michael Saul TJL solicitors

Catherine Kydd, 40, from Dartford in Kent, had ruptured PIP breast implants.

She said: "Why is it acceptable that I have to live with industrial silicone in my lymph nodes for the rest of my life due to this industry that is not properly regulated?"

Her story is far from unusual. Michael Saul, from TJL solicitors, represents the victims of botched cosmetic procedures, including one patient who went blind in one eye immediately after being injected with a dermal filler.

"Profits before patients, that's what happens. Surgery is sold like double glazing and it's totally wrong.

"I think it is very difficult for there to be any rational and reasonable opposition to [the recommendations], they're really sensible common sense suggestions."

Sally Taber, director of the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services, which represents the cosmetic surgery industry, praised the review.

"There has been so much bad practice out there, it's very welcome," she said. But she remained "concerned" at a lack of extra protection for people having laser procedures.

Ms Taber added: "Surgeons being on a specialist register will be an issue because we have got a lot of surgeons who fly in, fly out, as such, so that will be an issue that will be controversial."

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons welcomed the report saying it was "thoroughly relieved" with the findings and that there was an "urgent need" for dermal fillers to be classed as prescription medicines.

The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons said there had been an exponential increase in the number of cosmetic interventions and that it hoped "they achieve parliamentary approval and support quickly".

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