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Teachers attack ‘rebranded’ sexism

Written By Unknown on Senin, 01 April 2013 | 16.50

31 March 2013 Last updated at 19:59 ET By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent

Teachers are warning that young people are being damaged by an over-sexualised culture.

The National Union of Teachers annual conference will hear claims sexism is being "rebranded" as something fashionable and mainstream.

Delegates are to criticise the "raunch culture" of lap-dancing clubs and pole dancing.

Teachers, meeting in Liverpool, say it can have a "disastrous effect on the self-image of girls".

The National Union of Teachers will hear warnings from teachers that "sexism and inequality are still a huge factor in shaping women's lives".

The conference will hear claims that old-fashioned sexism has not gone away, but has been re-invented into something that appears to be "ironic or empowering".

Teachers will warn that pole dancing clubs and beauty pageants are turning back the clock on decades of campaigning for sexual equality.

There will be concerns that pupils are growing up in a culture where pornographic images are widely available, cosmetic surgery is advertised and there is a "fixation" with staying slim.

Teachers fear this can undermine young women's self-confidence and contribute to problems such as eating disorders and anxiety about their appearance.

This can disrupt both girls' school work and their social life, say teachers.

The motion to be debated on Monday afternoon will say that: "Growing up in a world where it is normal for women's bodies to be seen as sex objects affects the way that girls in our schools grow to view themselves and their place in society."

There will also be claims that this is linked to the number of sexual assaults and incidents of domestic violence.

Delegates will call for recognition of the negative impact of sexism and the need to protect equal rights for women.

Continue reading the main story

It is important for all children and young people to learn, in an age-appropriate manner, about respect for their own and other people's bodies and emotions"

End Quote Christine Blower NUT

In an earlier debate on the conference on Sunday, teachers described the problems of young people living in an environment with such widespread access to pornography.

A teacher from east London talked of pupils setting up websites showing sexual images of teenage girls in their schools.

Last week, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers' annual conference also heard warnings of pupils viewing aggressive sexual images.

Teachers said they feared pupils could be "desensitised" by such images and called for more guidance on how schools should tackle such an over-sexualised youth culture.

Even very young children were inadvertently exposed to such images, the ATL conference heard, either by watching video games with older children or watching late night television.

Teachers said that they had heard sexually explicit language from young children.

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: "It is important for all children and young people to learn, in an age-appropriate manner, about respect for their own and other people's bodies and emotions.

"This is all the more important given the rising levels of pornography which is very much in the public domain. There also continues to be a high rate of sexual harassment and homophobic bullying in society at large, despite efforts in schools to address and reduce it."


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NHS changes come into force

1 April 2013 Last updated at 03:30 ET Nick TriggleBy Nick Triggle Health correspondent

Government reforms of the NHS in England have come into force and health leaders warn of a tough year ahead.

Monday marks the first day of the new structures.

GP-led groups have taken control of local budgets and a new board, NHS England, has started overseeing the day-to-day running of services.

The NHS Confederation said the reforms represented a big opportunity but should not be seen as a "silver bullet" for the challenges ahead.

Mike Farrar, chief executive of the confederation, which represents health managers, said the squeeze on finances and the need to rebuild public confidence after the Stafford Hospital scandal meant the NHS was facing a critical period.

He said the reforms would bring clinical expertise to the fore of decision making, which would be a "huge asset".

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Because GPs have face-to-face contact with patients every day... they are really well-placed to be able to make decisions about how healthcare should be delivered best"

End Quote GP Catherine Briggs

But he warned: "We need to recognise the huge challenges facing the health service. New structures alone won't enable us to tackle these challenges, and we should not see them as a silver bullet.

"Those doing the day-job face major pressures in trying to keep the NHS's head above water, while focusing on making the new world work."

The start of the new system comes nearly three years since the changes were put forward.

The publication of the plans in the summer of 2010 sparked a long and, at times, damaging battle for the government to push through with its changes.

Ministers even had to take the unprecedented step of halting the progress of the bill through Parliament amid criticism from medical bodies, academics and unions.

In particular, concerns have been expressed about what many believe is a greater role for the private sector.

'Compassionate care'

Some have also questioned whether introducing such major changes - they have been dubbed the most radical overhaul since the NHS was created - at a time when money is so tight makes sense.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Far from letting 'doctors decide', ministers are forcing the medical profession to open up all NHS services to the market"

End Quote Andy Burnham Shadow health secretary

But as the new bodies take up control - and the old organisations, including 152 primary care trusts, are scrapped - the government maintained the changes would put the NHS on a firm footing for the 21st century.

Health Minister Anna Soubry said: "The health service will improve, work smarter and, importantly, build an NHS that delivers high quality, compassionate care for patients."

But shadow health secretary Andy Burnham predicted the changes would have the opposite effect.

"Far from letting 'doctors decide', ministers are forcing the medical profession to open up all NHS services to the market.

"Hundreds of new private companies now risk fragmenting patient care when more integration is needed."

GP Catherine Briggs said she would welcome more control over how budgets are spent.

"Because GPs have face-to-face contact with patients every day and because they know their patients and their communities really well," she said.

"That means they are really well-placed to be able to make decisions about how healthcare should be delivered best."

But GP John Hughes said he had reservations.

"The GPs aren't really free to do what they like with the money as a lot of people seem to think," he said.

"Most of the directions as to what happens to that money and what should be bought or commissioned locally is coming from the Department of Health."


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India rejects Novartis patent plea

1 April 2013 Last updated at 05:04 ET

India's Supreme Court has rejected a plea by Novartis to patent an updated version of its cancer drug, Glivec.

The Swiss drugmaker had been denied a patent by Indian authorities on the grounds that the new version was only slightly different from the old.

The decision means generic drugmakers can continue to sell copies of the drug at a lower price in India, one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical markets.

Novartis said the decision "discourages future innovation in India".

"This ruling is a setback for patients that will hinder medical progress for diseases without effective treatment options," said Ranjit Shahani, vice-chairman and managing director of Novartis India.

Glivec, which is used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia and other cancers, costs about $2,600 (£1,710) a month.

The generic equivalent is currently available in India for just $175.

There were concerns that, if granted, a patent could threaten access to cheap generic versions of life-saving drugs in poorer countries.

"This will go a long way in providing affordable medicine for the poor," said Anand Grover, a lawyer representing Cancer Patients Aid Association, adding that he was "ecstatic with the ruling".

Long battle
Continue reading the main story

Patents will be given only for genuine inventions, and repetitive patents will not be given for minor tweaks to an existing drug"

End Quote Pratibha Singh Lawyer for Cipla

Novartis applied for a patent in 2006 for its new version of the drug, arguing that it was easier to absorb and therefore qualified for a fresh patent.

However, the Indian patent authority rejected the application based on a law aimed at preventing companies from getting fresh patents by making only minor changes to existing drugs, a practice known as "evergreening".

Officials also turned down a subsequent appeal by the company three years later.

On Monday, India's Supreme court rejected the firm's appeal to get patent protection for the drug.

The AFP news agency quoted the court as saying that the updated drug "did not satisfy the test of novelty or inventiveness" as required by the law.

Setting a precedent?

Patents usually protect the companies for 20 years of exclusive sales. After that, it is open to other firms who can make cheaper copies of the original drug.

Once the protection expires, the first company to challenge the patent gets an exclusive right to sell the copy for 180 days.

After 180 days, more companies can sell the generic versions, potentially resulting in a further price drop.

It is estimated that drugs with combined annual sales of $150bn will go off-patent by 2015.

India's generic drug makers are among the biggest in the world and many expect them to benefit from these patents expiring in the coming years.

However, there have been concerns that if firms are granted patents for updated versions of their drugs, it may not only deny access to cheaper medicines to poor people, but also hurt the makers of generic drugs.

Pratibha Singh, a lawyer for the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla, said the ruling had set a precedent that would prevent international pharmaceutical companies from obtaining fresh patents in India on updated versions of existing drugs.

"Patents will be given only for genuine inventions, and repetitive patents will not be given for minor tweaks to an existing drug,'' she said.

Shares of Novartis India fell almost 5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while stocks of generic drugmakers such as Cipla and Natco rose after the judgement.


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Miliband quits after Di Canio hired

1 April 2013 Last updated at 05:26 ET

Ex-foreign secretary David Miliband has resigned from the board of Sunderland football club over new head coach Paolo Di Canio's "past political statements".

Mr Di Canio has previously described himself as "a fascist, not a racist".

Mr Miliband had been serving as the club's vice-chairman and as a non-executive director.

He said he wished the club "all success in the future. It is a great institution that does a huge amount for the North East".

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said Mr Miliband's decision to stand down was entirely to do with Mr Di Canio's appointment and nothing to do with his forthcoming move to New York to work for a charity .

Mr Di Canio was pictured in 2005 making a raised-arm salute to a group of supporters of Italian club Lazio, where he was playing.

He was given a one-match ban and fined £7,000 for the incident, and was also banned for a match following a similar incident earlier in 2005.

Continue reading the main story

"Paolo had many strong views... but I doubt it's relevant to keeping Sunderland in the Premiership."

End Quote Jeremy Wray Former Swindon Town chairman

In 2011, when Mr Di Canio was appointed as Swindon Town's manager, the GMB union withdrew its sponsorship of the club, citing his political views.

Mr Di Canio scored 48 goals in 118 appearances for West Ham after joining the London club for £1.7m from Sheffield Wednesday in 1999. He began his career at Lazio, and also played for Juventus, Napoli, AC Milan, Celtic and Charlton before later returning to Lazio.

Playing for Sheffield Wednesday in 1998, he pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground after being sent off and was banned for 11 matches.

'Not a racist'

Mr Miliband joined the Sunderland board in February 2011, retiring from frontline politics after losing the Labour leadership race to his brother Ed.

He had already said recently that he was quitting as Labour MP for South Shields to take up a role with the International Rescue Committee in New York.

Former Swindon Town chairman Jeremy Wray, who gave Mr Di Canio his first managerial job, described Mr Miliband's resignation as a "kneejerk response".

"I doubt if David Miliband has ever met Paolo Di Canio. I have known him for two years and I don't think politics was discussed once," he said.

"Paolo had many strong views. He probably had views on whether Italy should be in the euro, gay marriage and the endangered Siberian tiger but I doubt it's relevant to keeping Sunderland in the Premiership."

Sports journalist Gabriele Marcotti has written a biography of Mr Di Canio and suggested that the club appointment would always upset some people.

He told BBC 5 Live: "I've known him very well for the last 15 years. There's no question that he's not a racist.

"His record, his friendships, his relationships pretty much speak for themselves.

"As to why Miliband resigned, he's a politician and I can understand why he's concerned about being associated with certain people - especially the way some people are bound to depict Paolo."


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S Korea pledge over North threats

1 April 2013 Last updated at 05:31 ET
South Korean army soldiers patrol along a barbed-wire fence at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom on 15 March 2013

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Lucy Williamson reports from the heavily-guarded inter-Korean border

South Korea has promised a "strong response" to North Korean aggression, amid high tensions on the peninsula.

Speaking to defence officials on Monday, President Park Geun-hye said that she took the series of threats from Pyongyang "very seriously".

North Korea said on Saturday that it was entering a "state of war" with South Korea.

On Sunday, the US sent stealth fighters to South Korea, as North Korea pledged to build up its nuclear arsenal.

"If there is any provocation against South Korea and its people, there should be a strong response in initial combat without any political considerations," Ms Park said.

In recent days North Korea has issued multiple warnings of attacks on US and South Korean targets - to which the US has responded with an apparent show of military hardware.

The communist state has been angered both by UN sanctions imposed after its nuclear test in February and the joint US-South Korea annual military drills.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is expected to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry this week in Washington to discuss North Korea, Yonhap news agency reports.

Continue reading the main story
  • 12 Dec: North Korea fires three-stage rocket, in move condemned by UN as banned test of long-range missile technology
  • 12 Feb: North Korea conducts an underground nuclear test, its third after tests in 2006 and 2009
  • 7 Mar: UN approves fresh sanctions on Pyongyang; North Korea says it has the right to a "pre-emptive nuclear strike" on the US
  • 11 Mar: US-South Korea annual joint military drills begin; North Korea says it has scrapped the Korean War armistice (the UN says the pact cannot be unilaterally scrapped)
  • 19 Mar: US flies B-2 nuclear-capable bombers over Korean peninsula, following several North Korean threats to attack US and South Korean targets
  • 20 Mar: Broadcasters and banks in South Korea hit by cyber attack, the origin of which remains unknown, days after North Korea says some of its sites were hacked
  • 27 Mar: North Korea cuts military hotline with South, the last official direct link between the two
  • 28 Mar: US flies stealth bombers over Korean peninsula; showcasing ability for precision strike "at will"
  • 30 Mar: North Korea says it is entering a "state of war" with South Korea
'Nation's life'

The US flew F-22 planes from Japan to South Korea's Osan Air base on Sunday, as part of ongoing joint military exercises with South Korea, officials said.

"[North Korea] will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia," the US military command in South Korea said in a statement reported by Reuters news agency.

In March, the US deployed both B-2 and B-52 planes, which have nuclear capabilities, over South Korea. It said this demonstrated its "capability... to provide extended deterrence to [its] allies in the Asia-Pacific region".

It is not the first time F-22s have been used drills with South Korea, but the move came as North Korea's Central Committee held a rare high-level meeting on Sunday.

The committee described nuclear weapons as "the nation's life" and vowed to further develop its nuclear programme, state-run news agency KCNA said.

"Only when the nuclear shield for self-defence is held fast, will it be possible to shatter the US imperialists' ambition for annexing the Korean Peninsula by force," the report added.

North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly - the rubber-stamp parliament - is also due to convene on Monday for a day-long annual session.

While the group normally focuses on making economic decisions, this meeting will be keenly watched given the current high tension.

Few think the North - which last week cut a military hotline which was the last official direct link with Seoul - would risk full-blown conflict.

But in recent years there have been deadly incidents such as the sinking of a South Korea warship (in which Pyongyang denies any role) and the shelling of a South Korean island.

However the jointly-run Kaesong industrial park, which is located within North Korea's borders, remains in operation.

Workers from South Korea were crossing into the park - which is a key money-maker for North Korea - as normal on Monday, reports said.

The complex is seen as a barometer of North-South tensions, observers say, and a move to close it would be seen as an escalation of current tensions.


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Tanker bomb attack at Iraq police HQ

1 April 2013 Last updated at 06:49 ET

A suicide attacker has blown up a tanker lorry at the police HQ in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, killing at least seven people, officials say.

A majority of the casualties and injured are thought to have been police officers, AFP news agency reports.

The city, which lies 160km (100 miles) north of the capital Baghdad, was the hometown of ex-leader Saddam Hussein.

Violence has decreased in Iraq since the peak of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, but bombings are still common.

Sunni Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda have vowed to step up attacks on Shia and official targets this year, in an attempt to weaken the Shia-led government.

Last week, at least 19 people died and more than 100 were wounded in a spate of car bomb attacks in the northern city of Kilkurk.

The violence comes ahead of provincial elections scheduled to take place on 20 April.

The country is experiencing a deep political crisis, with Prime Minister Nouri Maliki sharply at odds with a range of political forces, including the Kurds, most of the Sunni groups, and many factions within his own Shia community.


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Welfare reforms fair - Duncan Smith

1 April 2013 Last updated at 06:42 ET

Changes to the UK's welfare system are fair, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has insisted, as some of the new measures came into effect.

They include cuts to housing benefit for some social housing tenants with a spare room and changes to council tax.

Mr Duncan Smith said it was about restructuring the culture so "people find work always pays".

Some churches, charities and campaign groups, as well as the Labour Party, have criticised the changes as unjust.

The biggest shake-up of the welfare system for decades will see low income households in many parts of England begin paying council tax for the first time.

'Winners and losers'

Mr Duncan Smith said the government was "trying to get control of the welfare bill and make sure it lowers in a way that we can be as fair as possible - without actually slashing or attacking people but trying to reform it and change it".

"The reality is that successive governments have come in and when they've had a problem they've cut welfare bills and then later on they've ballooned again," he told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

"What I'm trying to do... is to change the process so that we end up restructuring the culture so that people find that work always pays. It doesn't right now."

But Liam Byrne, shadow secretary for work and pensions, earlier told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "Today is a day of big winners and big losers - you've got millionaires who are getting a whopping great tax cut of £100,000 per year and everyone else is taking a hit to tax credits.

Continue reading the main story

[In many cases] the room is anything but spare... This is not just a cruel punishment, it's incompetent"

End Quote Liam Byrne Shadow secretary for work and pensions

"We think that basic strategy is simply unfair."

He said families in Britain were on average £890 a year worse off than they were at the last general election because of the measures and other coalition policies.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb said changes to benefits for social housing tenants of working age who have a spare bedroom were aimed at striking a balance.

"It's bringing people together - some of whom are prepared to trade down so that they don't have the spare room but some of whom are in desperate need and you're not even hearing the voice of those people in this debate," he said.

"These are people - a quarter of a million in Britain, in cramped, overcrowded accommodation - desperate for a family home and there aren't enough homes and we've got to make better use of the houses we've got."

Mr Byrne said the benefit change - that his party has dubbed the "bedroom tax" - would take more than £700 a year off some of the poorest people.

He said figures released by Labour suggested 97 per cent of those affected by the change had nowhere else to move to.

"What are those people going to do?" he told BBC Breakfast.

"...[For] many of the people hit by this tax, very often the bedroom is anything but spare... This is not just a cruel punishment, it's incompetent."

Welsh government minister Huw Lewis accused the UK government of "coming for ordinary Welsh people".

On Sunday, four churches joined together to criticise the government's plan as unjust - they fear that society's most vulnerable will be disproportionately hit.

That criticism has come from the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist and United Reformed Churches, and the Church of Scotland.

Fierce arguments

BBC local government correspondent Mike Sergeant says that while the fiercest argument has been about benefit cuts for social housing tenants with spare bedrooms, some of the other changes will affect many more people.

It has been estimated that two million low income households will pay more, as a result of changes to council tax benefit.

The benefit is being replaced by council tax support and responsibility for it is being moved from central government to councils, but with 10% less funding.

Iain Duncan Smith

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Each council has had to decide whether to pass on the reduction to residents - most are to increase bills for low income families.

The Local Government Association, the body that represents councils in England and Wales, argues that if councils had been given more freedom to close the gap in different ways then they would not have to impose bigger bills on the poorest.

Sir Merrick Cockell, chairman of the LGA, said: "The regret is that we agree with the principal that this should be down to local communities - local councils - to decide the right mixture for their area, but we're not [being] given discretion to sort it out ourselves."

Also from this month, most working age benefits will increase by just one per cent - less than the likely rise in the cost of living.

And later this month, an overall limit of £500 a week on claims is beginning in four London boroughs, and will come into force across England, Scotland and Wales over the coming months.

But government plans to test a new Universal Credit - which combines several benefits into one payment - have been delayed.

Three out of four pilot areas in the north west of England will not now start using the system until July.


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Scots police merger 'sets example'

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 31 Maret 2013 | 16.50

30 March 2013 Last updated at 20:03 ET James CookBy James Cook Scotland Correspondent, BBC News

The chief constable of Scotland's new national police service has suggested that the merger of forces could be emulated in England and Wales.

Steve House told the BBC it was unsustainable to maintain 43 separate police forces south of the border.

Mr House said: "My personal view is that structural change is inevitable down south."

Eight forces are being combined to form Police Scotland which will take over the country's policing on 1 April.

In a wide ranging interview for BBC News, Mr House also revealed that only 100 voluntary redundancies had been processed in advance of Police Scotland becoming operational.

He had previously suggested that job cuts in the "low thousands" might be needed for the new force to make the efficiency savings demanded of it.

Backfilling jobs

The Scottish government has pledged there will be no compulsory job losses at Police Scotland, but Mr House said it was proving difficult to obtain volunteers whom the force could do without in the short-term.

Mr House, who will command more than 17,000 police officers, said: "The vast majority of people who volunteer, who perhaps come from the control room, we can't let go because we would have to find a police officer off the street to take their role."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

If we could reduce alcohol consumption across the board, you would reduce violence levels dramatically - that's something we're focused on"

End Quote Steve House Chief constable, Police Scotland

He said he agreed with a report from the public spending watchdog, Audit Scotland, that using police officers to perform administrative roles previously carried out by civilians was not sensible.

"We have no policy or strategy for backfilling civilian jobs with police officers from the street," he said.

"We're looking to have the right level of integrated workforce, with the right number of police officers working with civilian colleagues."

The chief constable set out his priorities for the force, second in size only to London's Metropolitan Police, which included:

  • improving the investigation of rapes
  • tackling domestic violence
  • reducing violent crime

Mr House said that if any police officer in Scotland could "wave a magic wand" and be granted one wish, it would be to reduce alcohol consumption.

He said this was an enormous factor in the majority of violent crimes where people were taken in to custody.

"If we could reduce alcohol consumption across the board, you would reduce violence levels dramatically - that's something we're focused on."

He said he did not know whether the Scottish government's plan to introduce a minimum price for alcohol of 50p per unit would work.

He said he had supported it on the basis that it was worth a try.

"It won't be the only answer. It will have to work with other things, but I'm for giving it a try."

Asked what he personally brought to the role of Scotland's first national chief constable, Steve House, 55, who was short-listed for the post of London's Met Commissioner in August 2011, said that despite his English accent he had been born in Glasgow where he had spent the first 12 years of his life and considered himself a Scot.

He said: "I'm not at the Met, I'm here in Scotland. I'd rather being doing the job I'm doing right now.

"I went for the job, I wanted the job, I didn't get it. You move on."

Local plans

Mr House, who will lead a team of 11 senior officers which includes only one woman, said he wanted to help more female officers reach higher rank and suggested he would be delighted if he eventually handed over command of the service to a woman.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Making sure there is local policing by local consent is something we should cherish"

End Quote Willie Rennie Scottish Liberal Democrat leader

"It would be great for me if, when I pass the role on, a woman gets the job. That would be fantastic," he said.

He also rejected suggestions that the new national force would damage local law enforcement priorities, insisting that an individual policing plan had been drawn up for each one of Scotland's 353 local council wards.

"It's a hugely locally-focused service. There is no redeployment of officers across the country.

"All 14 divisional commanders are people who came up through the ranks in that part of the country.

"It's very local and it's tuned to the local needs and requirements of each community."

But the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Willie Rennie said he was not convinced.

He insisted that too much power in Scotland was being concentrated in the hands of three people: the chief constable; the lord advocate who heads the Crown Office, Scotland's prosecution service; and the justice secretary in the Scottish government.

He said: "The idea that centralisation, that pulling everything into the centre, to get economies of scale - it can't necessarily save money.

"In fact, what you lose is the local leadership and the local connection.

"Actually making sure there is local policing by local consent is something we should cherish, and we should not dismiss too lightly."


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Mitchell complains to IPCC over Met

30 March 2013 Last updated at 20:07 ET

Ex-cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell has launched a stinging attack on Scotland Yard over its inquiry into the 'plebgate' row.

In a letter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, he claims the force leaked contents of its own report.

His letter accuses the police of a "dishonest and illicit attempt to blacken my name and destroy my career".

The Metropolitan Police said inquiries into the matter were continuing.

Mr Mitchell has repeatedly denied claims, first reported in the Sun, that he swore and called police officers 'plebs' but he later resigned as chief whip.

He is suing the Sun over those claims.

A spokesman for the Sun newspaper said: "We stand by our story and will defend this claim vigorously."

Asked about Mr Mitchell's complaint to the IPCC, a Met Police spokesman said "our inquiries continue".

The spokesman added that the Met had "sent a report to the Crown Prosecution Service on Thursday as part of our investigation and a copy of this file was also sent to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, as they are supervising our investigation".

Continue reading the main story
  • 19 September - Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell allegedly calls police officers "plebs" during argument in Downing Street
  • 20 September - The story is revealed in the Sun
  • 21 September - Mr Mitchell denies using word "plebs" but apologises for being disrespectful to police
  • 17 October - Labour leader Ed Miliband says Mr Mitchell is "toast", as poor media coverage continues
  • 19 October - Mr Mitchell resigns
  • 15 December - Police officer arrested on suspicion of misconduct
  • 18 December - CCTV coverage casts doubt on police officers' version of events
  • 19 December - 23-year-old man arrested
  • 31 January 2013 - 46-year-old male police officer arrested
  • 1 February 2013 - 46-year-old female police officer arrested

So far four people - including three police officers - have been arrested as part of the investigation into the incident, which happened in September last year.

Initial reports had said that the former Conservative cabinet minister lost his temper and allegedly swore at police when they refused to open the gates for him as he cycled out.

Mr Mitchell admitted there was an exchange and resigned from the cabinet - but denied directly swearing at any officers and denied using the word "pleb".

CCTV footage of the incident later cast doubt on the police reports.

Those arrested in relation to the incident include:

  • A 52-year-old from the Diplomatic Protection Group who was held on 15 December on suspicion of misconduct in public office and bailed until April
  • Two 46-year-olds from the same command were held on 31 January and 1 February for allegedly passing information to the media and were bailed until May
  • A 23-year-old man who does not work for the police was also arrested and bailed until May

All three police officers remain suspended.


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Rescuers resume search for skier

31 March 2013 Last updated at 05:31 ET

The search for a skier missing after an avalanche near Glencoe Ski Centre in the west Highlands has resumed.

Emergency services were alerted to the incident at an "off-piste" skiing area in the Etive Glades on Saturday.

Glencoe Mountain Resort said an experienced off-piste skier had been caught in the major avalanche.

Northern Constabulary is co-ordinating the search, with members of Glencoe and Lochaber rescue teams.

Continue reading the main story

The avalanche has actually gone into a gully, and in some places the snow is about 40ft deep"

End Quote John Grieve Mountain rescue leader

The search, which had been called off as darkness fell on Saturday, included an RAF Lossiemouth helicopter.

John Grieve, leader of Glencoe Mountain Team, said the avalanche travelled about 1,000ft down the slope's rocky face.

"The avalanche has actually gone into a gully, and in some places the snow is about 40ft deep," he said.

He added that it was unlikely the skiier had survived in those circumstances.

There have been a number of serious incidents as a result of avalanches in Scotland this year.

In January four experienced climbers died on Bidean Nam Bianin Glencoe.

Three people also died after an avalanche in the Cairngorms in February.

Two of the climbers were off-duty members of the RAF Mountaineering Association. The third fatality was a student on a course at the Glenmore Lodge outdoor centre.

In the same week there was a second fatal avalanche involving a hillwalker.


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