Diane Abbott Sacked In Miliband's Reshuffle

Diane Abbott has warned she will enjoy being a "free agent" on the backbenches after being sacked by Ed Miliband.

The shadow public health minister became the latest casualty of the Labour leader's reshuffle as he looks to the next election.

Ms Abbott, who ran for the leadership against Mr Miliband, shrugged off the demotion - declaring "I'll live".

In a sign of things to come, she immediately challenged the party's policies on immigration, nuclear weapons and the economy.

Writing in The Guardian, she declared: "I have enjoyed being on the frontbench but I plan to enjoy being a free agent on the backbenches even more."

Her removal follows high profile sackings by the party leader on Monday, in what was dubbed a "cull of the Blairites" by critics.

Norman Baker: No rift with Theresa May

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne and shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg both lost their frontbench jobs.

Ms Abbott was the first black woman MP when she joined Parliament in 1987 and is considered a potential future candidate for Mayor of London.

A prominent figure on Labour's left wing, the politician is regarded as one of the most independent-minded MPs in the House of Commons.

She recently questioned the party's approach on immigration and suggested Mr Miliband was being swayed by opinion polls.

In the summer, she also caused controversy by declaring she would quit if the party backed military action in Syria in a Commons vote.

Labour ultimately decided to vote against the Government, inflicting a humiliating defeat on David Cameron, so Ms Abbott stayed put.

After being told she was out by Mr Miliband, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington went public with her concerns about a string of issues.

She questioned Labour's acceptance of Government cuts, calling for a "more far-reaching critique of austerity" and suggested Trident should not be "untouchable".

And she repeated her call for a tougher stance on immigration, warning the party should not be "pandering to anti-immigrant sentiment". 

Ms Abbott said she had "long despaired of the downward spiral of Labour's rhetoric" and argued it should have opposed the "immigrants' go home" vans far more quickly.

"Unfortunately the people around Miliband are terrified by the polling on immigration and have convinced him that we need to move right on the issue," she claimed. 

On the coalition side, Norman Baker has scotched reports of a clash between him and his new boss Theresa May after he became Home Office minister.

The Home Secretary was said to be "spitting tacks" after Mr Baker was moved to her department to replace Jeremy Browne.

But the Lib Dem insisted they had had a "very friendly chat" following his appointment and would be able to work well together despite coming "from different places".

Mr Baker, who wrote a book linking the security services to a cover-up over the death of David Kelly, also insisted he "entirely respects" the work of British spies.

Senior Lib Dem Danny Alexander predicted Mr Baker would be an "excellent" Home Office minister and would allow the party to "sharpen our campaigning edge" in that area.

Meanwhile, Tory Robert Syms' estranged wife Fiona has attracted attention after reacting with fury to him losing his post in the Whips' Office.

She wrote on Twitter: "PM just fired father of my kids over the phone. Gave up chairmanship of a cttee to be a whip, worked hard and was widely acknowledged to be a good whip.

"He was utterly gracious and took it like a man, I am beyond furious. Loyalty counted for nothing."

She joked her children had "defected to Labour" and that in her husband's position she would be "fixing up drinks" with rebels, but said the Poole MP would remain "super loyal".

She later updated her Twitter profile to describe herself as an "ex-wife with big mouth" who was "prone to extraordinary outbursts", although this has now been removed.

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Shark Attack Surfer: 'Did I Really Get Bit?'

A man has been attacked by a shark while surfing off the California coast.

Jay Scrivner described how the 9ft great white came "out of nowhere" and bit his left thigh and board.

The 45-year-old married father-of-two had been in the water for two hours and was paddling out to the waves when he saw the shark's teeth and nose.

He took a swing at the great white and let out what a friend nearby described as a primordial yell.

"I couldn't believe it happened," said Mr Scrivner. "When I turned away from the shark, I said, 'Did I really get bit?' Your mind doesn't believe it."

Mr Scrivner was attacked close to Humboldt Bay, near his hometown of Eureka

He managed to paddle back to shore where friends and fellow surfers applied pressure on the wound and tied a t-shirt around it to help stop the bleeding.

Mr Scrivner, a college English lecturer, suffered some muscle tissue damage that required about 30 stitches, and thinks he was spared from further injury by his old surf board, which is thicker than modern boards.

"If you're going to get bitten by a shark, I had the best scenario," he said.

He regularly surfs at the spot near Humboldt Bay, near his hometown of Eureka, and was aware that another surfer, Scott Stephens, survived a shark attack in the same area last year.

Mr Scrivner said Sunday's attack had not put him off and that he would "definitely surf again," but with trepidation.

Elsewhere, a professional diver suffered "substantial" injuries after being attacked by a shark off a remote section of Australia's western coast - for the second time.

Paramedics prepare to fly the victim to Perth

In 2004, Greg Pickering was bitten on the leg by a 1.5m bronze whaler while in waters near Cervantes, north of Perth, as he reportedly put himself between his friend and the shark when it began attacking.

On Tuesday, the 55-year-old, who collects abalone sea snails which are a delicacy, was with a diving crew from Southern Wild Abalone off Poison Creek beach, east of the city of Esperance.

He was flown to a hospital in Perth with wounds to his torso and face and was said to be "conscious and talking", according to his employer Marcus Tromp.

It is the first shark attack reported in Australia since December 2012, when a paddle-boarder lost a finger and suffered a serious bite to his thigh at Diamond Head, north of Sydney.

Sharks are common in Australian waters but deadly attacks are rare. The last reported fatality was in July 2012, when a surfer was bitten in half near Wedge Island, north of Perth.

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Help To Buy Scheme: First Rates Are Revealed

The first mortgage rates on offer under the latest phase of the Government's Help to Buy scheme have been described by the lender as "fair and competitive."

The second phase of the controversial scheme - aimed at helping more people get on the property ladder - sees Help to Buy extended to cover old homes too instead of just new-build properties.

It will see 15% of a property's value guaranteed by taxpayers, in return for a fee from the lender, to help homebuyers obtain mortgages worth up to 95% of a property's value.

RBS and its Natwest subsidiary said they would be offering two and five-year fixed rate deals at 4.99% and 5.49% interest rates respectively with no fee. The brands expect a rush of interest - signing up 25,500 first and next time buyers over three years.

Virgin Money is among the lenders taking part

The banks confirmed 740 of their branches would extend opening hours for two weeks to cope with expected demand but Lloyd Cochrane - their head of mortgages - told Sky News there would be no reckless lending with potential customers facing tough affordability checks.

He said: "We ensure based on what they earn and what they spend that they can afford the mortgage now but really importantly we ensure they can afford the mortgage at a rate of 7% so that gives us and our customers the confidence that they can afford the mortgage into the long term."

Halifax - owned by Lloyds Banking Group - later confirmed its offering: A two-year fixed rate at 5.19% with a £995 product fee and said customers would be able to apply for the mortgages from Friday.

HSBC said it would be taking part later in the year, making it the first major player with no taxpayer support to sign up.

Virgin Money and the start-up Aldermore Bank will join from January while Barclays and Santander UK are still considering whether to participate.

The scheme had initially not been expected to start until the new year but was brought forward by three months.

The PM wants mortgages to be affordable for many

It will offer £12bn in mortgage guarantees over three years and some estimates suggest 180,000 loans could be taken out under the initiative.

Lenders can start offering the mortgages from today, and they will be guaranteed by the Government from January 2014.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Help to Buy is going to make the dream of home ownership a reality for many who would otherwise have been shut out."

Chancellor George Osborne said: "Too many people are still being denied the dream of owning their own home, which is why we have brought forward the launch of this scheme, so as of today borrowers can start applying for a mortgage with a 5% deposit."

The new scheme means homebuyers will only have to find as little as 5% on homes worth up to £600,000. Depending on the size of the deposit, the Government will then guarantee up to 15% of the property value in return for a fee from the lender.

An earlier phase of the scheme, offering 20% loans on new-build properties, has already helped more than 15,000 people buy a new home since it was launched six months ago.

Help to Buy is controversial because critics fear it could fuel further rises in a housing market where prices are already going up.

But the Treasury said that while house price inflation stands at 3.3%, it is only 0.8% when the property hotspots of London and the South East are removed.

The latest report on the market from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) suggested prices were likely to surge further ahead in London and the South East because the supply of homes was lagging behind burgeoning demand.

It measured home sales at a four-year high last month but remaining historically low.

Commenting on the launch of phase two of Help to Buy, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie said: "If ministers are serious about helping first-time buyers, they should bring forward investment to build more affordable homes.

"Rising demand for housing must be matched with rising supply, but under this Government house-building is at its lowest level since the 1920s."

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Muslim Free School Threatened With Closure

A Muslim free school could be closed if it does not take "swift action" about how it is being run, the Government has warned.

The Department of Education has written to the Al-Madinah Free School in Derby, demanding that it address concerns about its practices.

According to the letter sent by Schools Minister Lord Nash, it has failed to keep pupils safe, provide a good education and has discriminated against female staff.

He said the school had "manifestly breached" its conditions and could expect to be closed down if it does not make immediate changes.

The letter comes after claims that female teachers at the school were forced to wear hijabs even if they were not Muslim.

Other reports alleged female pupils were made to sit at the back of classrooms and boys at the front.

The school has been given a week to prove it has stopped any activities that could lead to women and girls being treated "less favourably" than men and boys.

It will have to show that it is meeting equality laws in any case where it proposes separating boys and girls or treating them differently.

It has also been ordered to tell staff they are not required to cover their hair if it is against their religion or beliefs.

Lord Nash told head of governors Shazia Parveen: "I will not tolerate breaches of the commitments you gave when entering into the funding agreement."

Further action that the school must take in the next few weeks includes showing it has a "broad and balanced" curriculum and welcomes children of all faiths and none.

The Department of Education has also demanded a full list of all staff, including their references and evidence of criminal record checks.

Lord Nash said: "Unless swift action is taken to address these concerns in a comprehensive way, I will be compelled to terminate the school's funding agreement."

This effectively means that the school will face closure if it fails to deal with the Government's concerns.

Al-Madinah, which is one of the Government's flagship free schools, opened in September last year.

On its website, it describes a "strong Muslim ethos" with shorter holidays and longer school days "to maximise opportunities for pupil achievement and success".

It adds: "At the centre of our school is a community of pupils, able to enjoy learning in a caring Islamic environment which promotes a culture of high expectations and outstanding performance."

Interim principal Stuart Wilson told the BBC last week that he had not received any complaints from colleagues over the school's dress code and denied pupils had been split up.

There is speculation the school will be branded inadequate by watchdog Ofsted in findings due out soon.

Al-Madinah was already forced to close last week after inspectors raised concerns about its records on staff checks.

It reopened to pupils on Monday after a return Ofsted visit to ensure the right measures were in place.

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw said: "Inspectors are now engaged in finalising the inspection report for Al-Madinah School, which we expect to be able to publish in the next few days."

Al-Madinah declined to comment on the letter.

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Economy: IMF Makes UK Growth Forecast U-Turn

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor, In Washington

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its forecast for UK economic growth by more than any other major economy, in a boost to the Chancellor's fortunes.

It comes only six months after the IMF downgraded its expectations for the British economy and warned that George Osborne's policies were the economic equivalent of "playing with fire".

In its six-monthly World Economic Outlook, the IMF predicted that the UK's gross domestic product - the broadest measure of economic growth - would increase by 1.4% this year and 1.9% in 2014.

That compares to a forecast of just 0.9% and 1.5% respectively when it last updated its projections in July.

It came as the IMF downgraded its forecast for global GDP this year by 0.3 percentage points to 2.9%.

The rapid change in attitude will be welcomed by the Chancellor, who is due to attend the IMF's annual meeting in Washington later this week.

In April, IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard warned that austerity policies of the kind Mr Osborne was carrying out were "playing with fire" and urged him to change course.

However, over the following months, the IMF appeared to water down its prescription.

Ed Balls argues the UK economy remains below its potential

Treasury insiders see today's forecast revision as a tacit acknowledgement that Mr Osborne's original course was the right one.

A spokesman said: "The IMF has confirmed that the UK economy is turning a corner, by revising up its forecast for growth over the next two years by more than for any other G7 economy.

"But risks to the global economy remain high, and the recovery cannot be taken for granted. That is why the government will not let up in implementing its economic plan which has already cut the deficit by a third, kept interest rates near record lows and created over a million and a quarter jobs."

However, the text of the IMF report itself did not offer a ringing endorsement of the UK economy.

"In the United Kingdom, recent data have shown welcome signs of an improving economy, consistent with increasing consumer and business confidence, but output remains well below its pre-crisis peak … output levels will remain below potential for many years," it said.

Labour Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said: "After three wasted years of flatlining it's good that we finally have some growth. But this is the slowest recovery for 100 years and working people are worse off as prices continue rising faster than wages.

"Despite these welcome changes to its forecasts the IMF rightly warns that the UK economy will remain below potential for many years.

"That's why the IMF has repeated its view that the Government should bring forward infrastructure investment now, which could be used to build thousands of affordable homes.

"Instead of more complacency from George Osborne we need action to secure a strong and sustained recovery, catch up all the lost ground and tackle the cost of living crisis," he concluded.

The report said that the global economy was now beginning to recover from the Great Recession, but warned that central banks would find it difficult to bring the unprecedented series of emergency crisis measures to an end.

George Osborne (R) will see the U-turn as a vindication of his policies

The Federal Reserve has signalled that it will soon begin tapering the amount of assets it is buying each month under its quantitative easing programme, but stopped short of doing so at its meeting last month.

It said that the world would have to adapt to a slower potential growth rate from China - for the past five years the powerhouse for global growth.

However, the IMF reserved its most serious warning for the US Congress, which is currently deadlocked on talks over the budget, causing a part-shutdown of federal services.

It has also been unable to pass legislation to increase the US debt ceiling, something which could potentially cause the first US default in history.

The IMF said that its forecasts assumed the shutdown would be brief, that extra public spending would be agreed and that the debt ceiling would be raised.

"There is uncertainty on all three accounts," it added.

"While the damage to the US economy from a short shutdown is likely to be limited, a longer shutdown could be quite harmful. And, even more importantly, a failure to promptly raise the debt ceiling, leading to a US selective default, could seriously damage the global economy."

An added worry is that across the world, the recovery could be more tepid than normal.

Long-term average growth across the world is usually close to 4%. However, the IMF said that in the medium term it might only be realistic to expect something closer to 3%, given the serious impact of the Fed and other central banks reversing their quantitative easing programmes.

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Denver Couple Held Over Boys Living In Filth

A Denver couple have been arrested after police found their four small children living in filth, with an "unbearable" smell of decomposing animals and urine at their home.

The four boys - aged two, four, five and six - were not toilet-trained and had no schooling of any kind, according to an arrest affidavit.

All four boys have been placed in protective care and have undergone hospital exams that found them to be non-verbal – communicating mainly with infant-like noises - and malnourished.

Their parents, Wayne Sperling , 66, and Lorinda Bailey, 35, are charged with child abuse and are due to appear in court later.

The couple had already pleaded guilty in June 2009 to misdemeanour child abuse, news reports said.

The house where the alleged abuse took place

The current investigation started after the youngest boy was taken to hospital and the doctor noticed the child needed a bath, according to local station KCNC-TV.

According to the affidavit, when officers went to their home they found "one to two inches of cat faeces, both old and new, under the children's bunk bed", the station reported.

The floor was "soaked with cat urine" and littered with live and dead flies.

Bailey said she did not think the apartment was unsafe and denied the boys had any developmental problems.

The woman had reportedly been living alone in a separate unit of the building for the past two months, but she said she still saw the children almost every day.

Sperling said he was unemployed and has been the boys' primary guardian, saying he planned to begin home-schooling the six-year-old.

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Baby P's Mother To Be Released From Prison

Baby P's mother, Tracey Connelly, is to be freed from prison on the order of the Parole Board.

Connelly was jailed indefinitely with a minimum of five years in May 2009 for causing or allowing her son Peter's death.

The Parole Board has recommended her release following a second review of her case.

A statement from the board said: "We can confirm that a three-member panel of the board has directed the release of Tracey Connelly.

"Tracey Connelly first became eligible for parole in August 2012, and at that time a Parole Board panel made no recommendation to release.

Baby P died with over 50 injuries

"This is the second parole review for Tracey Connelly. The decision to release is a matter for the board, which is independent.

"Arrangements and the date of the release are a matter for the Secretary of State."

Baby P died on August 3, 2007 aged 17 months with more than 50 injuries.

This was despite being on the at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police and health professionals over eight months.

Connelly admitted the offence soon after being charged and served several hundred days on remand.

The house where Connelly lived with Baby P

It is thought she is currently being held at Low Newton jail near Durham.

Connelly was given a so-called imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence, which carries a minimum term.

An IPP sentence prisoner is eligible to be considered for release by the Parole Board when the minimum term is served.

When making its decision, the Parole Board takes into account a variety of matters including the nature of the offence, the prisoner's offending history and their behaviour in prison.

Reports from psychologists, probation officers and prison officers are also taken into consideration.

Connelly's boyfriend Steven Barker (L) and his brother Jason Owen

Connelly will remain on licence for the rest of her life and would likely be recalled to custody if she breaches any of the conditions.

Her son died at his home in Tottenham, north London, a day after police told Connelly she would not be prosecuted for abusing him.

Connelly was jailed along with her boyfriend Steven Barker and his brother Jason Owen, who were convicted of the same offence.

Barker was sentenced to life with a minimum of 10 years for raping a two-year-old girl and given a 12-year term to run concurrently for his "major role" in Peter's death.

Owen was jailed indefinitely with a minimum three-year term but later won an appeal to lower it to a fixed six-year term.

He was freed in August 2011 but was then recalled to prison again in April this year.

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Britain To Appoint Iran Charge D'Affaires

Britain is to appoint a non-residential charge d'affaires for Iran, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries broke down in 2011, but Mr Hague told parliament: "Both our countries will now appoint a non-resident charge d'affaires tasked with implementing the building of relations, including interim steps on the way towards (the) eventual reopening of both our embassies."

He said the coming months "may be unusually significant" in British-Iranian relations, which have been beset by argument over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

The recent election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has raised hopes of a thaw in relations between Iran and the West and a possible deal over the programme.

President Hassan Rouhani addressing UN General Assembly

But Mr Hague warned there were still several competing centres of power in Iran and that Tehran would need to make "substantive changes" if it wanted the West to ease sanctions.

"Iran remains in defiance of six UN Security Council resolutions ... and it is installing more centrifuges in its nuclear facilities," he said.

"In the absence of substantial change to these policies, we will continue to maintain strong sanctions. A substantial change in British or Western policies requires a substantive change in that programme."

Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed Mr Rouhani's election earlier this year, but said ties remain strained because of the ransacking of the British Embassy in Tehran in 2011.

That incident led to one of the worst crises between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The latest developments come two weeks after Mr Rouhani confirmed his country was prepared to restart stalled negotiations over its nuclear programme.

In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he said that he wanted to enter talks to build "mutual confidence" -but warned the international community should also recognise Iran's right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

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Woman Denies Child Prostitution Charges

A 22-year-old woman has pleaded not guilty to 37 charges related to arranging child prostitution.

Amanda Spencer appeared at Sheffield Crown Court along with three men who each denied related offences.

The charges against Spencer allegedly involve eight different children.

She also denied a single count of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation.

Spencer, who has long black hair, stood in the dock wearing a blue body warmer over a white hoodie and jeans.

She was joined in court by Lee Unwin, Kareem Ahmed, and a third man, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Unwin, 26, denied one count of paying for the sexual services of children.

Ahmed, 29, denied one count of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation.

The man who cannot be named denied two counts of sexual assault and another of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl.

Two other men, John McLachlan, 55, and Bashdar Hamadamin, 26, are also charged with related offences but did not appear in court.

All the defendants are on bail.

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Politicians Reject Press Self-Regulation Bid

Press Regulation: An Explainer

Updated: 3:50pm UK, Tuesday 08 October 2013

A guide to how the press regulation row has developed and the key arguments on either side.

The Leveson Report

Lord Justice Leveson conducted an inquiry into press ethics in the wake of the phone hacking scandal and reported last November.

He made a series of recommendations but these were not binding on the Government or the newspaper industry.

The publication of his report therefore sparked a new round of wrangling about how and to what extent his proposals should be implemented.

The Government's proposals

A cross-party deal was reached on a royal charter back in March after negotiations between the Tories, Lib Dems and Labour.

This would create a "recognition panel" to verify the work of a new independent self-regulation body to replace the Press Complaints Commission.

The new regulator would resolve complaints about newspaper stories but the panel would be able to withdraw recognition if it did not consider it effective or independent enough.

Agreement was reached at a late-night meeting in Whitehall but attracted controversy because it was attended by members of campaign group Hacked Off.

The idea of a royal charter was dreamt up by Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin as a compromise to address industry concerns about statutory oversight of the new regulator.

The press position

Publishers of some of the country's biggest newspapers put forward proposals for a rival charter in April.

It is similar in many ways to the cross-party version and also proposed a new regulator called the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

This charter prevents Parliament making amendments without the unanimous agreement of the recognition panel, regulator and trade associations.

It also allows former editors to serve on the recognition panel and requires at least one board member to have experience of the newspaper industry.

The regulator would have the power to "require" corrections and apologies rather than to "direct them".

The bar is also set higher for the consideration of group complaints that result from a petition or letter-writing campaign about a particular article.

The Guardian, Financial Times and Independent were the only national newspapers not to sign up to the proposals.

Campaigners complained that the press approach falls short of the Leveson recommendations and leaves too much power in the hands of the press.

What happens now?

Ministers have taken care to follow all the correct procedures by considering the press charter before deciding whether to go-ahead with the cross-party version.

A sub-committee of the Privy Council has met to look at the proposals and is meeting again on Tuesday before a full Council meeting on Wednesday.

There are reports the sub-committee has rejected the press plan as "flawed" and Culture Secretary Maria Miller is due to update the Commons later.

However, it is unclear whether the Privy Council will immediately approve Parliament's charter if this is the case - or whether further attempts at compromise will be launched.

What is the Privy Council?

The Council is formally made up of several hundred senior advisers to the Queen, mostly current and former politicians.

In practice, its day-to-day business is carried out by ministers who are members and monthly meetings are only attended by Her Majesty and a handful of Government ministers.

Orders in Council are signed by the Queen, but are agreed in advance by ministers.

There is some concern over whether the Queen should be asked to put her name to a royal charter which remains the subject of considerable contention.

Will the industry be forced to sign up?

If the Government's charter is approved, there is nothing to stop the press industry creating its own regulator without seeking recognition from the panel set up by the royal charter.

Some politicians fear that a watchdog endorsed by the recognition panel under the cross-party scheme would find itself with no newspapers to regulate.

Leveson proposed incentives to encourage newspapers to sign up, including protection from exemplary damages in the event of a serious libel or breach of privacy.

If the industry decided to go it alone with its own unrecognised regulator, papers would miss out on those safeguards.

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