Maude criticised over leadership

29 November 2013 Last updated at 22:36 ET

The minister responsible for civil service reform, Francis Maude, does not understand leadership, the former head of the service has told the BBC.

Lord Butler of Brockwell said what he called "backstairs sniping" showed contempt for the civil service.

Mr Maude recently said Whitehall should take more responsibility for errors.

A spokesman for Mr Maude said the civil service was full of brilliant people but held back by a hierarchical system and rigid culture.

'Dumped on'

In a recent newspaper interview Mr Maude suggested civil servants should "speak truth to power" more often.

His sentiments have met with a frosty response from the man who was for a decade cabinet secretary and head of the civil service.

Lord Butler told BBC Radio 4's Week in Westminster: "I agree with that, but people are not encouraged to speak truth to power when in the same breath in the same interview they are told that they will be dumped on when things go wrong.

"I'm sorry to say, I really think that Mr Maude and some of his colleagues don't understand leadership."

He continued: "My view is that the relationship between ministers and the civil service works best when they work together in a mutually supportive relationship, with loyalty on both sides.

"And backstairs sniping, whichever side it comes from, shows that something is wrong and there's been too much of that backstairs sniping."

Lord Butler, who served under prime ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair, said there was that sort of criticism of civil servants in the media "almost every single day".

'Sweeping under carpet'

BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said there were clear tensions in Whitehall about both changes to the civil service, and controversies in which the most senior civil servants in government departments - permanent secretaries - had been publicly criticised.

Mr Maude's spokesman said: "The civil service has brilliant people but somehow ends up being less than the sum of its parts because of a hierarchical system and a rigid culture.

"It's not right to patronise and infantilise people by pretending that everything is perfect in the best of all possible worlds.

"Good leadership is not about sweeping problems under the carpet. Francis and the leadership of the civil service have highlighted issues which need to be addressed. The same issues are raised in a survey of 200,000 civil servants.

"We owe it to the taxpayer, users of public services and civil servants themselves to address these issues in an honest and truthful way. That's just what we are doing".

"What Francis said was that 'everybody has to take responsibility for what they were part of' - that's axiomatic and the alternative is no responsibility and no accountability."

Week in Westminster is on BBC Radio 4 at 11:00 GMT on Saturday 30 November

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Anglicans to install woman bishop

29 November 2013 Last updated at 22:42 ET

The UK and Ireland's first woman bishop will be consecrated by the Anglican Church at a service in Dublin on Saturday.

Rev Pat Storey, a rector in Londonderry, was appointed in September.

She was elected by the Church of Ireland as Bishop of Meath and Kildare, in the Republic of Ireland.

The married mother of two, who grew up in Belfast, said she was "excited and daunted" by the historic appointment.

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Pat Storey is by no means the first woman Anglican bishop - she will be one of a group of 27 around the world.

But Mrs Storey will become the first ordained to serve in one of the Anglican churches serving the UK.

The Church of Ireland, whose territory includes Northern Ireland as well as the Republic, decided to appoint women as priests and bishops in 1990.

But, like the Scottish Episcopal Church, another small Anglican church that has cleared the way for women bishops, it has taken some time for it to find the right woman for a particular post as bishop.

Mrs Storey's diocese happens to be in the Republic, but the significance of her appointment will not go unnoticed by campaigners for women bishops in England.

One other thing will mark Mrs Storey out: where most bishops are known by the title Right Reverend, bishops of Meath and Kildare are conventionally styled Most Reverend, the title normally reserved for archbishops.

The service of consecration will take place at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin

Mrs Storey, who is 53, has been rector of St Augustine's in Londonderry since 2004.

She is married to Rev Earl Storey and they have two adult children.

Welcome

She studied French and English at Trinity College in Dublin, trained at the Church of Ireland Theological College and was ordained deacon in 1997 and priest in 1998.

She worked as a youth worker with the Church of Ireland youth department.

Mrs Storey became a priest relatively late in life, beginning her training in her mid-30s after working as a doctor's receptionist and for Weight Watchers.

She will be installed in the cathedrals of her diocese, at Trim and Kildare, in separate ceremonies next month.

The appointment of Mrs Storey was welcomed by Watch, a group that campaigns for the appointment of women bishops.

The Anglican churches in Wales and Scotland have the power to appoint woman bishops but have not yet done so.

The Church in Wales is due to vote in September to allow women to become bishops, the Church of England is alone in rejecting them.

The church in England is expected to discuss permitting the appointment of women bishops next year or in 2015.

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'Slavery' case woman 'indoctrinated'

30 November 2013 Last updated at 01:00 ET

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The BBC's Tom Symonds: "Her family heard little from her for 20 years"

The cousin of a woman who belonged to a Maoist commune in south London being investigated by police for alleged slavery has accused its members of turning her against her family.

Sian Davies died in 1997 after more than two decades with the activists.

Emyr Morgan told the BBC that members of the group wrongly claimed she was in India when she was in fact in hospital.

Police have interviewed three women, aged 69, 57 and 30, allegedly held as slaves for 30 years.

Window fall

Ms Davies entered the Maoist commune in the mid 1970s, devoting her life and her money to its cause.

Mr Morgan said she "disappeared" until 1997 when police told the family she had died after falling from a window at the group's house in south London.

He said in the months before, Ms Davies's mother had called a number she had been given for the commune only to be told she was in India when she was in fact in hospital.

Mr Morgan also said that at the inquest a commune member denied Ms Davies had a child.

The BBC has seen the birth certificate of a 30-year-old woman that said "Mother: Sian Davies".

The woman is believed to be "Rose", who last month called a charity along with another member of the commune begging for help.

'Thought through'

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Mr Morgan claimed Ms Davies was psychologically controlled though political indoctrination.

He said he did not have a phone conversation with Ms Davies but his mother and sister had.

Mr Morgan said: "My sister said it felt as if it was a very stunted conversation and that every answer was almost being thought through as if to say 'am I OK to say this'.

"It always felt during the phone conversations that they had that there was somebody else listening to her because it wasn't a natural conversation. There were all these pauses - it was like a transatlantic phone call."

Police said three women were rescued from a house in Peckford Place, Brixton, last month.

The alleged victims, a 30-year-old Briton, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 69-year-old Malaysian, are now in the care of a non-governmental organisation.

Aravindan Balakrishnan, 73, and his wife Chanda, 67, have been arrested on suspicion of being involved in forced labour and slavery.

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Ukraine police disperse protesters

30 November 2013 Last updated at 01:25 ET

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As David Stern reports from Kiev, a number of people appear to have been hurt

Riot police in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, have forcefully dispersed hundreds of protesters, beating some with truncheons, witnesses say.

Protest organiser Sergei Milnichenko said tear gas had also been used as police moved in at about 04:30 (02:30 GMT) on Saturday.

It followed fresh rallies against President Viktor Yanukovych's refusal to sign an EU association agreement.

Unconfirmed reports said a number of people had been hurt.

Police said they had decided to clear Independence Square after "a number of incidents", Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.

It was not clear what incidents they were referring to.

More than 1,000 people, most of them students, were in the square when police moved in, activists said.

"It was horrible. We were holding a peaceful demonstration and they attacked us," said protester Lada Tromada.

"They threw us away like garbage."

Witnesses said ambulances were on the scene and some demonstrators were seen bleeding from their heads and arms.

One activist, opposition MP Andriy Shevchenko, tweeted that dozens of people had been hurt and at least 33 taken into police custody.

Reuters news agency said the injured included one of its cameramen and a photographer, who was left bloodied by blows to the head.

By morning, police had surrounded the square and barely any protesters remained, a BBC correspondent reported.

Last week, Mr Yanukovych said he was suspending preparations for signing an EU association agreement that would have opened borders to goods and set the stage for an easing of travel restrictions.

He said pressure from Russia had led him to make his decision. Mr Yanukovych argued that Ukraine could not afford to sacrifice trade with Russia, which opposed the deal.

The agreement was to have been signed on Friday at an EU summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, and opposition leaders called for a large turnout of protesters to make their feelings known.

On Friday - as Mr Yanukovych attended the EU summit - about 10,000 demonstrators took to Independence Square, carrying Ukrainian and EU flags and chanting "Ukraine is Europe".

There was also a smaller rally involving some 3,000 supporters of Mr Yanukovych a few hundred metres away in European Square.

In Vilnius, EU leaders warned they would not tolerate Russian interference in the bloc's relations with former Soviet republics.

The summit reached provisional accords with Georgia and Moldova.

"The times of limited sovereignty are over in Europe," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

'Foreign pressure'

EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the parties had been "really close" to signing the association agreement in Vilnius, but added: "We need to overcome pressure from abroad."

"We are embarked on a long journey, helping Ukraine to become, as others, what we call now, 'new member states'. But we have to set aside short-term political calculations."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the door would always remain open for Ukraine.

Independence Square was the scene of the Orange Revolution in 2004, which saw Mr Yanukovych ousted and a Western-leaning government brought to power.

Mr Yanukovych was elected president five years later, narrowly defeating then-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a leading figure of the Orange Revolution.

In 2011 she was sentenced to seven years in jail for abuse of office - a case widely criticised in the West as political revenge.

Ms Tymoshenko has been on hunger strike since Monday over the failure to sign the EU agreement.

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US carriers 'to observe China rules'

30 November 2013 Last updated at 02:26 ET

The US says it expects its civilian aircraft to observe China's rules in an air defence zone in the East China Sea.

A US statement said this did not mean the US accepted China's requirements in the zone covering territory claimed by China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

China wants all aircraft there to file flight plans and identify themselves.

The US, Japan and South Korea say they have flown military aircraft in the area unannounced. But China said it scrambled fighter jets on Friday.

The move was to monitor US and Japanese aircraft in the zone.

'Firm but calm'

The air defence identification zone (ADIZ) covers a vast area of the East China Sea, including a group of islands claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan.

South Korea claims a submerged rock, known as Ieodo, also within the zone.

The establishment of the ADIZ has caused widespread anger, with the US state department calling it "an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea" which will "raise regional tensions and increase the risk of miscalculation, confrontation and accidents".

But on Friday, the state department said the US government "generally expects that US carriers operating internationally will operate consistent with Notams [Notices to Airmen] issued by foreign countries".

Continue reading the main story

• Zones do not necessarily overlap with airspace, sovereign territory or territorial claims
• States define zones, and stipulate rules that aircraft must obey; legal basis is unclear
• During WW2, US established an air perimeter and now maintains four separate zones - Guam, Hawaii, Alaska, and a contiguous mainland zone
• UK, Norway, Japan and Canada also maintain zones

Source: aviationdevelopment.org

It added: "Our expectation of operations by US carriers consistent with NOTAMs does not indicate U.S. government acceptance of China's requirements for operating in the newly declared ADIZ."

Japan has instructed its aircraft not to observe China's rules. But a number of regional commercial airlines - including Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Korean Air - have said they will comply.

China announced on Thursday it was deploying warplanes in the area for surveillance and defence.

Then on Friday, Air Force spokesman Col Shen Jinke said warplanes had been scrambled that morning to monitor two US surveillance aircraft and 10 Japanese planes - including early warning aircraft, surveillance aircraft and fighter jets - crossing through the ADIZ.

Col Shen said the jets had tracked the flights and identified the planes, state media reports.

Japanese officials gave no details of the flights, but said they were continuing to conduct routine operations in the region and had encountered no "abnormal instances so far".

Earlier, China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China had a right to patrol the region and that the ADIZ was not aimed at any specific country.

"If some worry has emerged about the situation, it's agitated by some individual countries," he told a regular briefing.

If disputes existed, China wanted to solve them through "peaceful means via friendly negotiation," he said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday that Japan would respond "firmly but in a calm manner" to China's move, the Kyodo news agency reports.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kushida said the issue would be discussed with US Vice-President Joe Biden, who is due to begin a three-day visit to Japan on Monday.

The disputed group of uninhabited islands in the zone are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in Chinese.

They are controlled by Japan, but have been the subject of rising tensions in recent years because of their proximity to important shipping lanes, fishing grounds and potential fossil fuel reserves.

South Korea has complained to China that the ADIZ also overlaps its own similar defence zone, and encompasses the Ieodo rock.

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Tim Yeo MP 'dropped' by local Tories

30 November 2013 Last updated at 02:58 ET

Conservative MP Tim Yeo has been dropped by his constituency party.

The decision was made by the South Suffolk Conservative Association in a secret ballot on Friday evening.

Last month, Mr Yeo, who has been MP for South Suffolk since 1983, was cleared by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards of breaking lobbying rules.

The Tory MP was secretly filmed by Sunday Times investigators posing as representatives of a fictional energy company seeking to hire his services.

The paper said he had admitted telling a business associate what to say in evidence to the committee he chaired.

But the watchdog said the newspaper had used "subterfuge, misrepresentation and selective quotation" in its report.

Mr Yeo, a former environment minister, had previously told the BBC that he intended to stand again in 2015.

If he does not accept the decision he can appeal or apply to be the new candidate when the selection process gets under way.

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'Three dead' in pub helicopter crash

30 November 2013 Last updated at 04:45 ET

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The BBC's Laura Bicker: "The site has been fully cordoned off"

At least three people have died after a police helicopter crashed into a busy pub in Glasgow, the BBC has been told.

A source close to the investigation said the final number of fatalities would almost certainly be higher.

The crash happened at The Clutha in Stockwell Street at 22:25 on Friday. People are still thought to be trapped.

There were three people on board the helicopter - two officers and a civilian pilot. Thirty-two people have been taken to local hospitals.

A senior fire officer said they had made contact with some people trapped inside the pub but the building was unsafe and they were taking a "methodical" approach to the rescue.

The emergency services could be seen on the pub's roof trying to rescue people from inside.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond is due to speak at a press conference shortly. There are expected to be updates from the police, fire and ambulance services.

It has been reported that about 120 people were in the pub at the time of the crash. Many were rescued or escaped but others have been trapped by a collapse on the left-hand side of the building.

Emergency services have erected barriers around the scene and specialist rescue teams are in the pub with sniffer dogs.

• The Police Scotland Casualty Bureau number is 0800 092 0410
• Callers should only contact the Casualty Bureau number if they have concerns for relatives who may have been in the Clutha Vaults pub or surrounding area at the time of the incident
• The injured have been taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Western Infirmary and the Victoria Infirmary
• The fire service said there were people trapped in the building but they could not say how many

Some of the injured were taken to a nearby Holiday Inn Express, while more serious casualties were being treated in hospital.

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Jim Murphy MP tells the BBC that "something horrific and serious happened"

As he left the accident and emergency department of Glasgow Royal Infirmary, a staff member who did not want to be interviewed was asked how serious the injuries were. He replied: "Very".

Glasgow's Health Board said it had put in place its "well-rehearsed major emergency arrangements" and that local hospitals had been on "immediate standby".

A large area of the city centre has been cordoned off.

Images of the crash showed the wreckage of a dark blue helicopter with a yellow "Police" insignia lying on the pub's roof.

'Human chain'

Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick said: "At 22:25 on Friday evening, the Police Scotland helicopter - a Eurocopter EC135 T2 - came down on the roof of the Clutha Vaults pub in Stockwell Street, Glasgow.

"There were three people on board - two police officers and a civilian pilot. There were a number of customers inside the bar at the time."

She said the rescue operation was ongoing and it was too early to provide any details around why the helicopter came down.

Helicopter operator Bond Air Services said it was working with the police and emergency services.

Jim Murphy, the Labour MP for East Renfrewshire, was in the area at the time of the crash and said he ran into the pub to help before emergency services arrived.

He told the BBC there was "pandemonium" as people tried to get out of the pub.

"It was almost like slow motion," he said, adding: "People just formed a bit of human chain, side by side with each other, to help pull injured people out."

The shadow cabinet minister, who had blood on his shirt which he said was not his, described what he saw as a "horrific scene".

Eyewitness Fraser Gibson, 34, was inside the pub with his brother to see his former band, Esperanza.

Continue reading the main story

Gordon Smart, editor of the Scottish Sun, told the BBC:

I can't really believe what's happened. I was on the phone at the time and I heard a misfiring engine. Looked above me, couldn't work out where it was coming from, it got louder and louder and I just spotted a helicopter falling from the sky.

It was falling at great speed. It looked like the rotors weren't spinning but the helicopter was sort of turning in a strange position and dropping at great speed. Oddly enough there was no explosion no fire ball.

It's a busy Friday night, a lot of people have been out in the pubs, there are a lot of pubs in that area. I do fear… I would be staggered if there weren't fatalities from the area it's landed.

"Midway through their set it sounded like a giant explosion," he told BBC Scotland.

"Part of the room was covered in dust. We didn't know what had happened. We froze for a second; there was panic and then people trying to get out the door."

Mr Gibson added: "I would say there was maybe 120 people inside the pub. A lot of people managed to get out straight away, but it was hard to tell how many were actually trapped in the other half of the bar.

He said there had been no indication a helicopter had caused the devastation, adding: "The roof had just totally collapsed.

"There were shards of wood sticking out the top but nothing that said there had been a helicopter crash."

Eddie Waltham, a former firefighter who had a friend inside the pub, told the BBC: "A roof joist came down and hit him and pushed him towards the window which is at the left side of the left door."

He added later: "My own reaction was to run straight up to the pub.

"It was amazing to watch just how people were trying so hard to get into this building."

John McGarrigle who said he feared his father had been in the pub at the time said: "I've checked every hospital and there's no sign of him. I'm very anxious.

"I'm just going to stand here till I see casualties come out of the building."

First Minister Alex Salmond tweeted: "The emergency services are in full operation. Our thoughts are with everyone involved. Scottish resilience operation now mobilised."

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "My thoughts are with everyone affected by the helicopter crash in Glasgow - and the emergency services working tonight."

In 2002, a police Eurocopter EC-135 came down in a field in Ayrshire. All three people on board survived.

In 1990, a police sergeant was killed when a Bell Jet 206 helicopter crashed in bad weather at Newton Mearns in East Renfrewshire.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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High Streets need 'radical action'

28 November 2013 Last updated at 19:22 ET By Emma Simpson Business correspondent, BBC News

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Alternative use must be made of empty commercial properties

Rejuvenating town centres requires radical action on a scale not seen since the building programmes of post-war Britain, according to a new report.

The Distressed Town Centre Property Taskforce says structural changes needed in retail are so fundamental, many towns and cities need reshaping.

The taskforce was set up following Mary Portas's review of the High Street.

One key recommendation is for the government to designate town and city centres as key national infrastructure.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

There's still a need for vibrant retail, just less of it"

End Quote Mark Williams Taskforce chairman

In its scale and range, it is an unprecedented group. For the past 13 months, senior retailers, property investors, landlords and bankers have been investigating the impact of the changes that have affected retail and property in England's towns and city centres.

In other words, the folk who own and finance so much of our town centres have come up with their own solutions on what to do.

Too many shops?

One of the main recommendations is that the government should designate town and city centres as key national infrastructure in order to open up new funding opportunities.

The retail landscape has changed completely in the last five years, thanks to the recession and the shift to online shopping.

It has left most towns with too many shops.

The report found that in the past four decades, retail floor space in England increased by around 43 million square metres.

That is the equivalent of building nearly 300 Bluewater Shopping centres across England, or seven of the new Westfield centres near the London Olympic site every year since the early 1970s.

The chairman of the taskforce, Mark Williams, said: "There's still a need for vibrant retail, just less of it."

Mr Williams, who is also a partner at the retail property firm, Hark Group, added: "Over the past 12 months, it has become increasingly clear that waiting for so called 'normal' economic growth to return is unviable: Many more town centres will have embarked on a course of terminal decline."

Scourge

Solutions, he says, will vary from place to place but for the overwhelming majority, a smaller retail core is necessary and alternative uses like housing and leisure need to be found.

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Taskforce chair Mark Williams: "People do not shop in the same way"

But for local authorities, it hasn't been easy tackling the surplus of space and with it the scourge of empty properties.

There are often a myriad of different landlords and competing interests to deal with, as well as getting funding.

Friday's report spells out the problems along with recommendations for change.

They include:

• Government should designate town and city centres as infrastructure in order to open significant funding opportunities currently not accessible. A High Street Infrastructure platform should be set up to help to deliver this idea
• Bold and strategic land assembly is required. Government should pilot a joint venture vehicle and an associated High Street property fund to pool land assets and address fragmented ownership
• Make it easier for councils to use compulsory purchase powers in order to bring about the scale required for major urban regeneration
• Local authorities should take more risk in investing capital reserves now, which can be replenished as the economy recovers
• Significantly greater flexibility in the planning system is needed to enable quick and easy change of use from redundant retail premises to more economically productive uses

Edward Cooke, the director of policy for the British Council of Shopping Centres, said: "All stakeholders have a role to play: Individuals, local councils, local and national businesses and central government.

"We believe these recommendations will deliver the direction and the funding necessary to make this happen."

Demolish

The question is, who will be paying for all this potential change?

The group says it is not asking the taxpayer to foot the entire bill. Often the problem is down to a gap in funding, which, if plugged, would make a development viable.

The Taskforce believes post-financial crisis, the traditional funding models for town centre redevelopment are no longer fit for purpose.

New ways of funding have to be found and that key bodies in the retail and property sectors are keen to play their part.

The message from the retail property industry to the government is clear: they are prepared to demolish land and write off distressed buildings to regenerate town centres, if the public sector and government can make it easier rebuild.

Mr Williams said: "There is a huge amount of private sector funds available to regenerate town centres. But it requires scale and planning. What it's not there is for piecemeal change, an ad hoc approach to fix the odd shop.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

All stakeholders have a role to play: Individuals, local councils, local and national businesses and central government"

End Quote Edward Cooke British Council of Shopping Centres

"So we're looking about scale and critical mass. And in that sense the private sector will respond to local authorities and government initiatives."

Bedfellows

The Taskforce says it is up to individual communities and local authorities to decide what is right for their area. But "future proofing" towns will require strong local leadership.

The big commercial stakeholders in our towns and cities are not often comfortable bedfellows, but they have all signed up to this report.

"What is extremely pleasing is that a wide coalition of influential stakeholders has united behind agreed parking issues and develop local plans and good local vision," said Tom Ironside, British Retail Consortium Director of Business and Regulation.

The government, which encouraged the Taskforce to be set up, is now digesting the findings.

The Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, said: "It's a really interesting report with some really interesting things here which we need to look at. We are doing an awful lot for the High Street, we're empowering local communities to shape their town centres for what's right for their communities in the future."

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FA targets 'pushy parents' at games

28 November 2013 Last updated at 23:09 ET By Emma Forde 5 live Investigates

Almost 4,000 misconduct offences have been committed by adults at youth level football, according to the Football Association.

The figures were collated from matches in England involving under-18s teams during a 15-month period.

The FA will now offer new "awareness" courses to club officials who have been found guilty of a misconduct charge.

"We consider it to be a huge priority," said Dermot Collins, the FA's respect manager.

BBC 5live Investigates asked the FA to collate figures for misconduct offences that have occurred at youth football matches at grassroots level. This is the first time the FA has quantified the scale of the problem.

Continue reading the main story

Find out more

Listen to the full report on 5 live Investigates on BBC Radio 5 live on Sunday, 1 December at 11:00 GMT or download the programme podcast.

The FA provided figures from all 50 county associations across England.

The reports mainly came from match officials who had witnessed improper behaviour, such as offensive remarks directed at referees and physical fights between parents or between opposing club managers.

They relate to incidents recorded last season (2012-13) and so far this season (up to November 2013).

In total, there were 3,731 cases of misconduct involving adults at under-18 matches.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Some parents are sick and tired of the same parent who is coming to the game giving abuse from the sidelines"

End Quote Colin Bridgford Chief executive officer of Manchester FA

Of those, 1,057 involved incidents where clubs were charged with failing to control spectators or players - with the vast majority related to trouble caused by spectators.

'More hard-hitting'

Mike Bacon is a youth team coach in Suffolk: "I know of a game last year that was stopped for five minutes while two parents were separated on the sidelines. The players and the referee just stood there watching while the rest of the parents separated them. That was an under-13s game."

"If parents don't get it, particularly at a younger age, perhaps we should get to the stage where they drop their children off or take them to the game but don't watch," he added.

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Manchester County Football Association says it is now starting a zero tolerance approach to the problem and will start publishing online the names of clubs and teams which have been charged for failing to control spectators.

"We are going to name and shame the teams and the age groups which have poor spectators and which have had cases proven," said Colin Bridgford, chief executive officer of Manchester FA.

"It's got to be more hard-hitting. I think some parents are sick and tired of the same parent who is coming to the game giving abuse from the sidelines."

The ex-England striker Gary Lineker recently said he believed pushy parents are damaging England's chances of developing top-class players, and called for a "parental culture revolution".

One referee from Swansea, 67-year-old Clive Steward, suffered a broken nose and needed 19 stitches after being assaulted by a parent in 2009.

He told 5live Investigates the situation is as bad as ever - and it's not just parents who are out of control.

"A junior game about three weeks ago... was abandoned with only three minutes left. I gave an obvious penalty, they take the penalty, they score, and then all hell let loose.

"They were having a go at the opposing players. The manager was telling his players, 'Get stuck in to them, kick them' - it was like a kettle beginning to boil."

The FA figures released exclusively to the BBC show that in a 15-month period between July 2012 and November 2013, 975 adults, including team managers and coaches, were charged with improper conduct against match officials.

The remaining 1,699 incidents related to other improper conduct offences such as verbal disputes between team officials.

'Positive environment'

From January 2014, the FA is introducing a pilot scheme across 10 county associations offering new educational courses - the equivalent to the disciplinary speeding course that drivers are sent on.

The courses are not a replacement for fines or suspensions but are intended to get people to think about the impact of their behaviour.

They will predominantly be aimed at managers, coaches and in some cases spectators who have been found guilty of non-violent misconduct charges - such as abusing referees or threatening behaviour.

"It takes inspiration from the speeding courses. They are invited to attend a course where they get to really understand the implications of their actions," said Mr Collins.

"Instead of people just being fined further or receiving further suspensions, they trade some part of that suspension or in other cases are just obliged to attend the course."

The 10 county football associations are Essex, Manchester, Bedfordshire, Lancashire, Surrey, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Liverpool, and Nottinghamshire.

"One of our fundamental priorities is trying to create a really positive environment where kids can learn the game and where they fall in love with football and develop a lifelong attachment to it.

"If that is marred by poor spectator or parental behaviour or inappropriate behaviour by team managers then that can ruin that experience both for an individual player, or for an entire team," Mr Collins said.

5live Investigates is broadcast on BBC Radio 5live on Sunday, 1 December at 11:00 GMT.

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Hope still for 'dead' Comet Ison

29 November 2013 Last updated at 02:13 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

Comet Ison, or some part of it, may have survived its encounter with the Sun, say scientists.

The giant ball of ice and dust was initially declared dead when it failed to re-emerge from behind the star with the expected brightness.

All that could be seen was a dull smudge in space telescope images - its nucleus and tail assumed destroyed.

But recent pictures have indicated a brightening of what may be a small fragment of the comet.

Astronomers admit to being surprised and delighted, but now caution that anything could happen in the coming hours and days.

This remnant of Ison could continue to brighten, or it could simply fizzle out altogether.

"We've been following this comet for a year now and all the way it has been surprising us and confusing us," said astrophysicist Karl Battams, who operates the US space agency-funded Sungrazing Comets Project.

"It's just typical that right at the end, when we said, 'yes, it has faded out, it's died, we've lost it in the Sun', that a couple of hours later it should pop right back up again," he told BBC News.

The European Space Agency (Esa), too, which had been among the first organisations to call the death of Ison, has had to re-assess the situation. A small part of the nucleus may be intact, its experts say.

How much of the once 2km-wide hunk of dirty ice could have survived is impossible to say.

Passing just 1.2 million km above the surface of the Sun would have severely disrupted Ison. Its ices would have vaporized rapidly in temperatures over 2,000C. And the immense gravity of the star would also have pulled and squeezed on the object as it tumbled end over end.

Karl Battams said: "We would like people to give us a couple of days, just to look at more images as they come from the spacecraft, and that will allow us to assess the brightness of the object that we're seeing now, and how that brightness changes.

"That will give us an idea of maybe what the object is composed of and what it might do in the coming days and weeks."

Whatever happens next, comets are going to be a big feature in the news over the next year.

In 11 months' time, Comet Siding Spring will breeze past Mars at a distance of little more than 100,000km. And then in November 2014, Esa's Rosetta mission will attempt to place a probe on the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

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Government wants energy prices held

29 November 2013 Last updated at 04:13 ET By John Moylan Industry correspondent, BBC News

The government is asking the big six energy firms to hold prices until the middle of 2015, barring any major increase in wholesale fuel costs.

Industry sources have told the BBC the government wants to avoid another round of price rises that could be blamed on government green levies.

It wants the commitment as part of a wider deal with firms that could cut annual bills by around £50.

Labour has promised to freeze energy prices for 20 months if it is elected.

The government has described that as a "con", saying that governments in general cannot control the international price of fuel.

But this move, if agreed, could keep tariffs on hold for at least 18 months, assuming there was no major rise in wholesale prices.

That could ensure there was no increase in energy bills ahead of the next election.

Labour's shadow energy secretary, Caroline Flint, said: "The truth is that only by legislating for a freeze can we guarantee that it will happen.

"David Cameron won't do that because he's not prepared to stand up to the big energy companies."

Angela Knight, chief executive of industry body Energy UK, told the BBC: "Only about 18-to-20% of the bill is in the control of the energy companies."

She defended the industry's profit margin, currently about 5%, saying: "A business has to be profitable if it's going to stay in business."

Continue reading the main story

This is deferring costs, not getting rid of them"

End Quote Industry source

'Deferring costs'

A senior figure at one of the big six suppliers, who did not want to be named, has told the BBC that he wanted to make the commitment.

"We want to make it happen, but we need predictability on costs," he said.

He said the key was to change the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, which requires the firms to deliver energy efficiency measures to homes.

"If they can resolve the issues around ECO, that takes the gun away from our head," he added.

Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce a relaxation of the ECO commitment in his Autumn Statement next week.

But another industry source warned that making such a commitment would be impossible: "We can't make that commitment while our costs are still increasing."

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He cited several factors linked to government policy, including the Carbon Price Floor and the Renewables Obligation, which he said would drive costs higher in the years ahead.

The government is seeking to spread the cost of the ECO scheme from the current 27 months to four years.

The source said: "This is deferring costs, not getting rid of them."

"The bus has already left the station," he added.

The government is also looking at the cost of transmitting energy to our homes. This makes up 23% of an annual dual fuel bill.

According to the industry regulator Ofgem, electricity distribution costs will add £15 to an average bill over the next year, but flatten out thereafter.

Industry sources say the government wants that cost spread over a longer period.

Such a move could potentially knock £5 annually off bills.

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'Strong' rise in UK house prices

29 November 2013 Last updated at 04:15 ET

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How prices have risen over the decades on one housing estate

Prices of houses and flats have picked up strongly, according to figures from the UK's second largest mortgage lender.

The Nationwide building society said house prices are now rising at 6.5% a year, up from 5.8% a month ago.

It said the average price of a house or flat in the UK is £174,566, the highest since April 2008.

However, other measures suggest house price inflation is lower than the Nationwide figure.

The Nationwide made it clear that prices are still below the peak of the market, seen six years ago.

"Prices are still around 6% below the all-time high recorded in late 2007," said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist.

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• Lets you see where you can afford to live - and if it would it be cheaper to rent or buy
• Enter how many bedrooms, which end of the market and how much you want to pay each month
• As you move the payment slider, parts of the UK light up to show you where you can afford
• Based on pricing and rental data from residential property analysts Hometrack

He said the improvement was the result of the better outlook in the jobs market, and "a brighter economic outlook, which has helped to bolster sentiment".

On a monthly basis, prices increased by 0.6%, slightly slower than in October, when prices rose by 1% in one month alone.

Mortgage costs

Other recent housing market surveys have recorded growth rates around half that of the Nationwide.

The Land Registry said this week that prices in England and Wales were rising by 3.4% year on year. Land Registry figures are based on actual sales, instead of mortgage approvals, which are used by Nationwide.

However, the Land Registry estimates include a significant time lag.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said its latest estimate for house price inflation was 3.8%.

Some economists believe the Bank of England's decision to stop Funding for Lending (FLS) for household mortgages could now put a brake on the housing market.

From January, FLS will only be used for business lending.

But others have said the change will make little difference.

"House prices... look set to see further strong increases over the coming months despite the Bank of England ending Funding for Lending support for mortgage lending," said Howard Archer, the chief UK economist with IHS Global Insight. He is sticking to his forecast that house prices will increase by 8% next year.

Robert Gardner, of the Nationwide, said the change to FLS was likely to have a "fairly modest impact".

"After all, FLS is only one of the reasons why mortgage rates are at historic lows," he told the BBC.

He cited the Bank of England's policy of quantitative easing as being instrumental in that, a process which will continue.

Under FLS, banks and building societies have been able to borrow money cheaply, if they lend it out to individuals and businesses.

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Parents 'to share childcare leave'

29 November 2013 Last updated at 04:28 ET

The government has committed to introducing a year of shared leave for new parents by April 2015.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the rights would allow men to become more hands-on fathers and stop women feeling they have to choose between a career or a baby.

There should not be a "one-size-fits-all" approach, he added.

But the Institute of Directors described the new rights as a "nightmare" for employers.

Since April 2011, fathers and mothers have been able to share some of the 52 weeks' existing leave, with the father able to take up to six months beginning after the baby is 20 weeks old.

However, this can only be taken as a single block - as can the leave the mother takes.

Under the proposed new arrangement, first trailed last year, the existing 52 weeks of maternity leave, other than the first fortnight for a new mother's recovery, will be shared between the parents.

But, in an effort to allay fears of the impact on smaller firms, bosses will have to agree any proposed pattern of time off and will retain the right to insist it be confined to a continuous block, with no more than two subsequent changes.

'Under pressure'

Anyone taking total leave of six months or less over the period will be legally entitled to return to the same job.

Mr Clegg said the current "Edwardian" rules stopped parents from "taking the decisions" that best suited their own needs and those of their children.

Continue reading the main story

We need to challenge the old-fashioned assumption that women will always be the parent that stays at home, many fathers want that option too"

End Quote Nick Clegg Deputy Prime Minister

"Women deserve the right to pursue their goals and not feel they have to choose between having a successful career or having a baby," he said.

"They should be supported by their employers, rather than being made to feel less employable or under pressure to take unchallenging jobs.

"It is already illegal to sack a woman because she is pregnant, or on maternity leave, but we want to go further than that. We want to create a fairer society that gives parents the flexibility to choose how they share care for their child in the first year after birth.

"We need to challenge the old-fashioned assumption that women will always be the parent that stays at home, many fathers want that option too."

Mr Clegg added: "There shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all approach; that's not how families are set up. Many businesses already recognise how productive and motivated employees are when they're given the opportunity to work flexibly, helping them retain talent and boost their competitive edge.

"This is good for families, good for business and good for our economy."

'Unwieldy'

Campaign group Maternity Action said the reforms were "a useful but very modest step in the right direction".

But the Institute of Directors business group said the plan was a "nightmare" that would "heap yet more burdens on struggling employers."

Deputy director of policy Alexander Ehmann said: "The proposed system is considerably more complex and unwieldy than the current laws and employers will - once again - have to absorb the cost of adapting and implementing this new system.

For Labour, shadow minister for women and equalities Gloria De Piero said: "Nick Clegg claims to be on parents' side but he and David Cameron have done nothing to support families in the last three years."

She added: "This reheated announcement contains nothing new for families suffering from this government's cost-of-living crisis."

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady added: "Shared parental leave is a welcome new step that should encourage more fathers to get involved in childcare from the very beginning.

"But unless it is backed up with better pay, many couples simply won't be able to afford to take it."

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Referee charged with hacking at FA

29 November 2013 Last updated at 04:28 ET

Three men including a referee have been charged over allegations of computer hacking at the Football Association.

Referee Dean Mohareb, 30, of Woodley, Stockport is charged with perverting the course of justice and unauthorised access to computer data.

Liam Cliff, 18, of Woodlands Road, Manchester, and Vincent Rossi, 46, of Wingfield Avenue, Wilmslow are charged with perverting the course of justice.

They are due before Stockport Magistrates' Court on 5 December.

Mohareb, a Football League referee, is a senior member of the FA Referees Department as national referee development manager.

He was arrested in October 2012 over allegations that he hacked into a colleague's email account.

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Murdered man 'let down by police'

27 November 2013 Last updated at 17:00 ET

The sister of a man who was murdered and his body set on fire following false rumours he was a paedophile, has said he was "let down" by the police.

Manisha Moores said Iranian-born Bijan Ebrahimi had come to England as a refugee in 2001 to find a better life.

He was arrested by police after he was seen taking pictures around the Bristol estate where he lived.

Avon and Somerset Police said there was no proof to back up the allegation he was a paedophile.

Ms Moores said her brother had "no doubt" that he was coming to a safe place and that he did not believe anything bad would happen to him in the UK.

Mr Ebrahimi had been suffering racial and physical abuse on the estate he lived on in the Brislington area of the city, said Ms Moores.

She added he was told he needed to provide photographic evidence to support his allegations of harassment and damage to his property.

'Hostile environment'

But in July local people believed he was inappropriately filming children and he was wrongly accused of being a paedophile.

Police were called and he was arrested on suspicion of a breach of the peace.

Continue reading the main story

We feel so let down by the police and other agencies and we would like to know why"

End Quote Manisha Moores Bijan Ebrahimi's sister

He was taken away as a crowd reportedly shouted and called him names.

Officers later examined his camera, videos and computers but found nothing suspicious so he was released without charge.

Avon and Somerset Police insist Mr Ebrahimi was not a paedophile and that there was absolutely nothing to stand up the allegations.

Mr Ebrahimi's sister said he returned to his house believing he would get support from the police if he needed it.

Within two days he had been beaten to death and his body set on fire after it was doused in white spirit.

Ms Moores said police should have realised he was coming back to a "hostile environment".

"Maybe Bijan wasn't understanding the tension but for people with experience like the police they should have at least explained to the people there wasn't any evidence of what they were accusing him [of]," she said.

"We feel so let down by the police and other agencies and we would like to know why."

Lee James, 24, of Capgrave Crescent, Bristol, admitted his murder, at Bristol Crown Court.

Stephen Norley, 24, also of Capgrave Crescent, was originally charged with murder but that charge was dropped and he admitted assisting an offender.

Both men are due to be sentenced on Thursday.

Officers suspended

The police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), is investigating the circumstances of Mr Ebrahimi's dealings with the force.

Three officers have been suspended by the force while the IPCC looks at the way it dealt with him in the days leading up to his death.

While the outcome of that investigation is yet to be published Ms Moores said the family wanted to know exactly what happened to Mr Ebrahimi in the last couple of days of his life.

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Manisha Moores: "You never, ever thought that anyone could do such a barbaric act"

"He made so many calls [to the police] and we want to know why, if he asked for help, they didn't give him the help he deserved?"

The family found out about Mr Ebrahimi's death as they waited at an airport to come home from a Spanish holiday.

She said: "It was such a terrible, terrible moment being in the airport and hearing the news.

"You never think anyone could do such a barbaric act.

"We are devastated and haven't come to terms with losing Bijan... losing someone in such a way is unimaginable."

She added: "We go as many times as we can to his grave to cry and to feel that he is there.

"We couldn't say our goodbyes to him, we couldn't see his face and we couldn't bury him in the time that our religion allows us to do - we had to wait a long time to be able to do that."

His family believe he was picked on as he lived alone, was disabled, vulnerable, and because "he was different".

"He was an easy target - it was a hate crime and [that was] obvious from some people's reaction in the last few days of his life," said Ms Moores.

"It was devastating for us to hear [the allegations] - I don't know where that had come from - he was not a paedophile.

"I hope people understand the consequences of these rumours and the allegations against innocent people and what it's going to lead to.

"They're going to regret it for the rest of their lives."

Avon and Somerset's Chief Constable, Nick Gargan, said collectively agencies and authorities had failed Mr Ebrahimi.

Ms Moores said the news left her "disappointed, frustrated and sad".

"How could anyone be failed by so many agencies?

"If they helped him find a safer place... then that could have prevented what happened to Bijan."

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Concern over student loan debtors

28 November 2013 Last updated at 00:23 ET By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent

The government is not doing enough to get student loans repaid as the total value of money owed continues to rise, a spending watchdog has warned.

The outstanding loan debt is £46bn and will rise to £200bn in the next 30 years, the National Audit Office said.

About 50% of students are not expected to earn enough to repay all their loan.

The NAO report also highlights concerns over the more than £5bn owed by about 368,000 former students whose exact whereabouts are unaccounted for.

It says officials are overestimating how much money will be recovered each year, and is not securing value for money for tax payers.

The increase in tuition fees in England has meant much higher levels of student loans and debts - and the spending watchdog says there needs to be much tighter scrutiny of levels of repayment.

Such an expansion requires a "much more robust strategy" for recovering loans, said Margaret Hodge, chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee.

"It is essential that government collects every pound it can of the debt that should be collected," she said.

Off the radar

The report says there is a lack of employment information about the former students who owe more than £5bn.

This includes people who might be unemployed or have moved overseas, but the watchdog warns that too little is known about where they now are.

In March 2013, the report says, there were 14,000 students living overseas, who were behind with repayments of £100m.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We need to ensure that all borrowers who are earning over the relevant payment threshold are repaying their loans, including those who have moved overseas"

End Quote Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The report says the Student Loans Company could do more to retrieve these missing payments.

This is against a rapidly rising number of UK students who are taking out student loans, with the NAO reporting that the number of borrowers will more than double to 6.5 million people over the next three decades.

The report warns that the government has previously been over-optimistic in how much is likely to be repaid by students.

The expected level of debt to be written off had been set at 28% in 2010, which had risen to 35% by 2013.

Labour's university spokesman, Liam Byrne, said figures from the House of Commons library showed this had risen to more than 40%, which would cost a further £600m.

"We may be at the point where so many students loans are being written off, that the government's new student finance system is actually more expensive than the old arrangements, even though the government is asking students for three times as much money," said Mr Byrne.

Earlier this week the government announced the sale of part of the student loan book to the private sector, from a type of student loan from the 1990s.

There are ambitions to sell off the bigger, income-related loans that have come with higher fees - a move that will be much more politically sensitive.

'Unsustainable'

The report notes that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is "preparing to sell early cohorts of the income‑contingent repayment loan book, and will take a sale decision in due course".

Martin Freedman of the ATL teachers' union said the report showed the loan system was "out of control".

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We may be at the point where so many students loans are being written off, that the government's new student finance system is actually more expensive than the old arrangements"

End Quote Liam Byrne Labour's shadow university minister

"The system is unsustainable and the government needs to review it urgently," said Mr Freedman, who argued that it would result in "unbelievable" levels of debt.

He also criticised spending £27m on debt collection, which he said would have been better used on education.

The head of the National Audit Office, Amyas Morse, said the increasing cost of the student loan system required a "more energetic and considered approach" and a "high level of collection performance".

A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokesman said: "The report demonstrates that there is an effective and efficient process resulting in high collection rates at a low cost which we believe demonstrates good value for money.

"We need to ensure that all borrowers who are earning over the relevant payment threshold are repaying their loans, including those who have moved overseas after leaving their course."

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Arrests over football 'match-fixing'

28 November 2013 Last updated at 01:42 ET

Six men have been arrested by officers from the National Crime Agency investigating alleged match-fixing in English football.

At least three footballers are reported to be among those held across the country, but the BBC understands that none is linked to professional clubs.

The NCA said the focus of the operation was a suspected international illegal betting syndicate.

It is thought the suspects are being held by police in the Midlands.

The NCA was launched this year to fight organised and serious crime.

It said it was working closely with the Gambling Commission and the Football Association.

A spokesman said: "This is an active investigation and we are unable to provide further detail at this time."

Newspaper probe

The FA said it has been made aware of the arrests.

In a statement, it said: "We have worked closely with the authorities in relation to these allegations. The FA will make no further comment at this time due to ongoing investigations."

"The Gambling Commission said it had provided advice, intelligence and expertise in supporting the investigation and continues to liaise with the NCA and FA."

Continue reading the main story

The integrity of our matches and our competitions is the bedrock of the domestic game"

End Quote Shaun Harvey Football League chief executive

The Crown Prosecution Service said it had liaised with the NCA during its investigation.

The arrests come after an undercover investigation by the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

It carries claims that a betting syndicate fixer from Singapore discussed the possibility of influencing the scores and outcomes of lower-league English games for £50,000 at a meeting in Manchester.

According to the paper, he claimed potential gamblers would make hundreds of thousands of pounds by using the inside information through bets placed on Asian-based websites.

The fixer reportedly offered to target two football matches, saying he would tell players how many goals he needed to be scored.

He can be heard in a video claiming that he would pay a player £5,000 to take a yellow card at the start of a match as a signal that the result was likely to be fixed.

The Football League said it had not been contacted by police about the investigation.

Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey said: "The threat of corruption is something that the Football League and the other football authorities treat with the utmost seriousness.

"The integrity of our matches and our competitions is the bedrock of the domestic game."

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Spanish PM: Scotland 'outside of EU'

28 November 2013 Last updated at 02:18 ET

The Spanish prime minister has suggested that an independent Scotland would have to apply to become a member of the EU from the outside.

Mariano Rajoy said that if a "region" opted to leave a member state, then it would "remain outside the European Union".

It would then require the agreement of all 28 EU members before it was allowed to join, he said.

The Scottish government aims to negotiate entry from within the EU.

This would be done in the 18 months between a Yes vote and formal secession from the UK, it has said.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We have detailed a process which will see Scotland negotiate its position as an independent member of the European Union from within"

End Quote Scottish government spokesman

Speaking at a media conference during a summit with French president Francois Hollande, Mr Rajoy said: "I do not know the White Paper presented by the Scottish president (sic).

"I would like that the consequences of that secession be presented with realism to Scots.

"Citizens have the right to be well informed and particularly when it's about taking decisions like this one.

"I respect all the decisions taken by the British, but I know for sure that a region that would separate from a member state of the European Union would remain outside the European Union and that should be known by the Scots and the rest of the European citizens".

His stance appeared to echo the official position of the European Union.

However, Mr Rajoy did not say he would seek to block an independent Scotland's subsequent entry to the EU.

The BBC's Tom Burridge, in Madrid, said the Spanish prime minister's comments were being seen as an implicit warning to the Spanish region of Catalonia, whose autonomous government wants to hold a vote on independence.

Mr Rajoy strongly opposes having an independence referendum in Catalonia, in the north of Spain.

But the Catalan government says it plans to announce the date of its referendum, and the question it will put to Catalan voters, before the end of this year.

Article 48

Speaking on Newsnight Scotland, Finance Secretary John Swinney said Scotland was already part of the European Union by virtue of its membership as part of the UK.

To gain membership as an independent state, he said Scotland would apply for an amendment to The Treaty on European Union under Article 48.

This would need to be approved by all 28 member states.

"We are members of the European Union," he said.

"Once Scotland votes for independence - a Yes vote in September 2014 - we remain still within the European Union and the day of independence doesn't happen until 2016.

"So we are doing this from within the European Union as part of our membership."

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said the Scottish government had previously said that under independence its membership as an independent state would be automatic.

She said: "If you move to a position where it would be automatic to saying you would need agreement, then you have to contemplate the possibility that somebody might disagree."

Responding to Mr Swinney, she said: "You have told us in the past you want to remain within the European Union.

"It would now appear that's assertion, like so much in here, rather than actual documented fact."

Require negotiations

The Scottish government's White Paper on independence, which was published on Tuesday, devotes about nine pages to EU membership.

It has also published a further 100-page document which focuses on the EU.

Writing in the document's foreword, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the government recognised that EU membership would require negotiations with other member states and institutions.

But this could be done from within the organisation in the period between a Yes vote in September next year and day one of independence in March 2016, she argued.

The report asserted that it was wrong on three counts to say Scotland would have to leave the EU and reapply from outside:

• Scotland has been an integral part of the EU for 40 years
• It would be against the self-interest of the EU collectively and individually
• It would deny the democratically expressed wishes of the Scottish people

A spokesman for the Deputy First Minister said: "Scotland's future is first and foremost a matter for the people of Scotland.

"We note that the Spanish Prime Minister has said he has not read our proposals, but Mr Rajoy has previously indicated that he considers the Scottish and Catalan situations are 'absolutely and totally different'.

"That is because the process for Scotland becoming independent is enshrined in the Edinburgh Agreement, where the UK government has pledged to respect the outcome of the referendum.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The Spanish prime minister has just blown Alex Salmond's case for EU entry out of the water"

End Quote Ruth Davidson Scottish Conservative leader

"As the papers we have published outline, we have detailed a process which will see Scotland negotiate its position as an independent member of the European Union from within, during the 18-month period between a Yes vote and independence day - a period when we will still be part of the EU as part of the UK, and which has been described as 'realistic' by the UK government's own legal adviser.

"That process, under Article 48 of the Treaty of the EU, allows for Scotland to become a member state at the point of independence.

"Scotland is already an integral part of the EU, and there is nothing in the entire body of EU treaties which provides for the expulsion of an existing territory or the removal of its inhabitants' rights as EU citizens."

But Better Together leader Alistair Darling said Mr Rajoy's comments were "another blow to Alex Salmond's claims that nothing would change if we vote to go it alone".

He added: "The Spanish Prime Minister has just made it clear that everything would change.

"We now know what the position of the Spanish government would be if we vote for independence. This has created even more uncertainty."

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: "The Spanish prime minister has just blown Alex Salmond's case for EU entry out of the water.

"We need to know what advice the SNP received before they laid out their threadbare case in the White Paper, whether they'd spoken to other member states or even checked basic facts with EU officials."

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New look at uniform cigarette packs

28 November 2013 Last updated at 03:29 ET

The government is to announce an independent review of cigarette packaging in England, amid calls for action to discourage young smokers.

David Cameron appeared to distance himself from uniform packaging in July, saying further evidence was needed to show whether it would be effective.

But No 10 sources said the issue would be looked at again and the government was "open-minded" about what to do.

Labour said immediate action was needed, "not another review".

The government has never officially ruled this out, saying previously that it wanted to see the results of a pilot scheme in Australia - the first country to introduce it - before deciding whether to follow suit.

The Department of Health told the BBC that the government would not decide on the look of the standardised packaging until evidence from the pilot scheme had been considered.

A spokeswoman said all options would be considered, including packaging in a uniform colour, with a small tax mark, or using graphic images of smoking-related diseases on all boxes of cigarettes.

Most Conservative MPs supported standardised packaging at the time although a handful - including former GP Sarah Wollaston - accused the government of pandering to big business.

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham described the review as "delaying tactics".

Continue reading the main story

It is not surprising that the government appears to be looking again at the issue of plain packaging for cigarettes.

David Cameron has always been keen on the idea. In fact, it was the prime minister who pushed hard for it to become policy after the election rather than his first health secretary, Andrew Lansley, who was more circumspect.

It was, of course, controversial - and so ministers ended up shying away from it.

So what has changed? Australia still remains the only country in the world to have introduced plain packaging - with graphic images.

But early evidence suggests it is effective.

A study in the state of Victoria found not only did it make smokers more likely to think about quitting, it also worked subconsciously - smokers felt the cigarettes were of poorer quality.

"If the government was serious it would be taking action now to cut the harm from tobacco to children," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"I don't believe this is a serious move. It's just a tactic to avoid humiliation in the House of Lords."

But Public Health Minister Jane Ellison insisted the "time was right" to conduct a review.

"It's a year this weekend since the legislation was introduced in Australia," she said. "It's the right time to ask people to look at this.

"This is fundamentally about children's health. Two thirds of people start smoking when they're children and it's one of the most important public health issues we face in this country.

"Asking an independent body to take a look and survey the evidence for us is a sensible next step. We are going to take the opportunity to put regulations in place which will enable us to act quickly."

The Times, which first reported the story, said the new review would report in March and could lead to uniform packages on English shelves before the 2015 election.

The BBC understands the review, led by paediatrician Sir Cyril Chantler, will focus on the experience in Australia.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said ministers would also approve enabling legislation to allow them to sanction plain packaging "very quickly" if the evidence stacked up.

The Times said a study conducted in Australia found that smokers using standardised plain brown packets were 81% more likely to consider quitting.

'Marketing tool'

Labour, who have sought to link Conservative election chief Lynton Crosby's work as a consultant for the tobacco industry to delays in the policy, said ministers needed to "stand up to vested interests".

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Ministers had shelved plans for plain packets earlier in the year, as Iain Watson reports

"The evidence to support standardised packaging is clear," said shadow health minister Luciana Berger.

"The consensus is overwhelming. We don't need any further delay while 570 children are lighting up for the first time every day."

Cancer Research UK said the move would "save thousands of lives".

Dr Harpal Kumar, the charity's chief executive, said: "Stopping cigarettes being marketed to children as a glamorous and desirable accessory is one of the greatest gifts we can give the next generation.

"If this becomes law next year, there is no question that it will save thousands of lives in the future."

'Rise in counterfeiting'

The Department of Health held a consultation in 2012 on plans which would have required manufacturers to use standardised packets and fonts, and put prominent graphic warnings on their products.

Health campaigners say packaging is a "key tool" for the industry to get new customers but manufacturers say uniform packets will increase counterfeiting and the focus must be on reducing under-age smoking.

The ban on images on packaging came into force in Australia on 1 January after a long-running legal battle between the former Labor government and the tobacco industry.

Manufacturers claimed the law was unconstitutional and infringed on their intellectual property rights by banning the use of brands and trademarks.

But they said they would comply after the legality of the measure was upheld by the country's highest court.

The Scottish government has said it is "still committed" to introducing standardised packaging, while New Zealand is also considering the move.

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Government pension fee cap 'too high'

28 November 2013 Last updated at 03:30 ET

Leading pensions' provider Legal and General says the Government's planned 0.75% cap on management fees is too high.

The company says that, at that level, customers would pay more than £4bn too much over a lifetime of pension saving.

The criticism comes on the same day as the deadline for submissions by the pensions industry to the government.

Legal and General appears to be out of line with the rest of the industry, who are against any cap on fees.

Ministers believe the industry could be charging excessive amounts and want to curb charges.

The government has talked of a "full frontal assault" on fees levied by pension providers, with some older schemes charging more than 2%.

Most leading groups believe a cap is not desirable as it will be hard to implement.

But, by contrast, Legal and General not only wants a cap, but says the government's one is too generous and 0.5% would be better.

Independent pensions expert Ros Altman told the BBC's Today programme that pension fees should not be capped too low.

"We don't want to dumb down pensions to the lowest common denominator," she said.

She added that a low price cap would make it harder for pension companies to provide innovative strategies.

Millions

Since last October, workers have been gradually signed up to workplace pensions, such as the government funded National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) scheme, unless they deliberately opt out.

With this auto enrolment now in place, millions more employees will be brought into company pension schemes over the next few years.

The government's consultation process has been seeking industry input on three possible options - a 1% cap, a 0.75% cap, or a two-tier "comply or explain" cap, where pension providers will be capped at 0.75%, rising to 1% if they can explain to regulators why their scheme must charge more.

Losses

Legal and General says the difference between 0.5% and 0.75% would mean more than £4bn of excess fees during a lifetime of saving by those customers.

The government said that someone who initially saved £1,200 in the first year and worked for 46 years could lose almost £170,000 from their pension pot with a 1% charge and more than £230,000 with a 1.5% charge.

These calculations assume that their contributions rise by 4% each year, and that the pension pot investment grows by 7% each year.

In addition, these figures do not take inflation into account. In 46 years' time, the total amount will be worth less in real terms owing to the effects of inflation.

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