Benefits Street Show Investigated By Ofcom

The TV regulator has said it will investigate the series Benefits Street to decide whether it broke broadcasting guidelines.

The Channel 4 programme received nearly 1,800 complaints and sparked political debate over its portrayal of the people who live on James Turner Street in Birmingham.

Many of the Winson Green street's residents were living on benefits and some scenes appeared to show them committing crimes.

The programme claimed to reveal "the reality of life on benefits" on "one of Britain's most benefit-dependent streets".

Ofcom will examine whether the programme may have caused offence by being misleading or unfair, and whether enough was done to protect under-18s in the show, as well as the way it depicted possible crimes.

There were 960 complaints to Ofcom and another 800 to Channel 4 about the show.

An Ofcom spokeswoman said: "Following the conclusion of Benefits Street, Ofcom can confirm that it has launched an investigation into the series."

The watchdog has a range of sanctions it can use if the channel is found to have breached regulations, from fines and licence removal to providing channels with more guidance.

A series of police raids last June led to some of the street's residents being charged with drug offences.

And some of the families featured in the show claimed they had been tricked into appearing and were angry at being depicted as lazy scroungers and irresponsible parents.

In January Channel 4 told Sky News: "The production crew were filming in a purely observational capacity - at no stage was criminal behaviour encouraged or condoned.

"All contributors were briefed that if they carried out criminal activity on camera this could result in criminal investigations after broadcast."

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Brooks: 'Shock, Horror' At Milly Dowler Hacking

Rebekah Brooks has spoken of her "shock and horror" over the hacking of murdered schoogirl Milly Dowler's phone.

Giving evidence at the Old Bailey where she is standing trial for conspiring to hack telephones, Brooks claimed she knew nothing about an alleged request for phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire to access the voicemails.

The former News of the World editor told the court she only became aware Milly Dowler's phone had been hacked on July 4, 2011 and her reaction was one of "shock, horror, everything".

"Just to put my reaction into any form of context," she said.

"I was told that the News of the World had asked someone to access Milly Dowler's phone while she was missing, that they had also deleted her voicemails and for a period of time because of that her parents had been given false hope and thought she was alive," she said.

"I just think anyone would think that that was pretty abhorrent, so my reaction was that. That was what I was told.

"Nobody did delete voicemails and certain parts of the police knew voicemails had been accessed," she added.

Brooks was editor of the paper between 2000 and 2003

Brooks also claimed she was unaware of a contract worth £92,000 between the News of the World and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire while she was editor and it was never drawn to her attention.

Her barrister Jonathan Laidlaw QC told the court the contract was between the now-defunct Sunday newspaper and Mulcaire's company Euro Research and Information Ltd.

The agreement which began in September 2001 consisted of weekly payments of £1,769 over a 12-month period, totalling some £92,000.

Brooks was asked if she had set eyes on the contract during that period, to which she replied "no".

Brooks denied any knowledge of Milly Dowler's phone being hacked

When asked if she had ever heard of Mulcaire's company, the former News International chief executive replied: "Their names did not ring a bell with me when I heard about them in 2006.

"Of course we used a lot of private detectives at the paper so it would not necessarily ring a bell."

The 45-year-old, from Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, denies conspiring to hack telephones, conspiring to commit misconduct in public office, and conspiring to cover up evidence to pervert the course of justice.

Wearing a dark top as she entered the witness box she said any payments over £50,000 would have required permission from the newspaper's then-managing editor Stuart Kuttner.

Mr Laidlaw asked: "In ordinary circumstances would a payment of this sort come to your attention?"

"It depends," she replied, adding: "As long as it was within the spending limit, my visibility would have been pretty low."

Brooks added that other departments used private detectives more often than she did during her time as features editor.

"Obviously at News of the World it was known they were used for all sorts of different things," she said.

"In the late mid-90s to 2003/04 there was lots of use of private detectives across Fleet Street … it was commonplace."

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Oscar Pistorius Trial To Be Shown On Television

The trial of Oscar Pistorius over the Valentine's Day killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp will be partially televised, but his testimony will not be shown.

The double amputee, known as the Blade Runner, is accused of killing Ms Steenkamp in a shooting at his home in Pretoria, South Africa, last February.

In his ruling on Tuesday, Judge Dunstan Mlambo said cameras would be able to "obtain a video and audio recording of the permitted portions" - the opening arguments, prosecution witnesses, closing arguments, the verdict and sentencing.

However, cameras will not be able to film the 26-year-old Olympic champion, defence witnesses or anyone else who objects to being on camera.

A live audio broadcast of the trial, which begins on Monday and is set to hear from more than 100 witnesses, will be permitted throughout.

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said the decision was being hailed as "groundbreaking" by the South African media.

The judge is "making sure everyone, whoever you are, rich or poor, famous or completely anonymous, can listen and watch this trial and see justice is done", she said.

Pistorius denies committing murder and says he shot the model and reality TV star by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

The 29-year-old was found lying on the bathroom floor after being shot four times.

Pistorius standing in the dock at an earlier hearing

On the first anniversary of her death, the athlete said he was "consumed with sorrow" over what had happened.

The mandatory sentence for someone convicted of premeditated murder in South Africa is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison.

The case will be heard at Pretoria's High Court.

The South African legal system does not have trials by a jury, so a judge will preside over proceedings and ultimately pronounce Pistorius innocent or guilty.

Ms Steenkamp was shot dead at Pistorius' home in February 2013

Pistorius also faces charges of illegal possession of ammunition and two additional gun-related charges.

He has remained free on bail and has been able to compete before the court case, but Pistorius has turned down invitations to take part in major international athletics events.

:: Sky News will have live coverage of the trial from Monday, with a special highlights programme at 9.30pm.

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Ukraine: Russia Warns Of 'Dangerous' Dilemma

Yanukovych Survived One Revolution But Not Two

Updated: 11:00pm UK, Monday 24 February 2014

Former President Viktor Yanukovych built a reputation as a political street fighter throughout his career.

While he may have survived one revolution, the second has dealt him the final blow.

Mr Yanukovych's dramatic ousting is in many ways a fitting end to a career littered with controversy.

Long plagued by allegations of corruption and a love of luxury, the former president was said to have mastered the art of political survival.

Mr Yanukovych was first deposed after winning a presidential vote in 2004, only to be re-elected six years later. 

His rise to power was equally meteoric.

Hailing from Ukraine's industrial Donetsk region, Mr Yanukovych has previously said his childhood was mired by poverty.

Orphaned at the age of two and raised by his grandmother, he has recalled running around the streets barefooted. 

He fell in with a local street gang in the late 1960s and was convicted of robbery in 1967 and assault in 1970. He served prison sentences for both crimes, although his criminal record has since been inexplicably cleared.

The former leader cut his teeth in politics in his native Donetsk in the 1990s. He served as governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 until 2002, when he was appointed prime minister.

His first run at the presidency was in 2004.

He "won" the election, only to be promptly deposed following mass protests, which bore startling similarities to those which would follow 10 years later.

Allegations of fraud and voter intimidation in the second-round ballot promoted the occupation of Kiev's Independence Square, or Maidan, where protesters have returned recent months.

The movement, known as the Orange Revolution, forced the Ukrainian Supreme Court to order a re-run of the vote. 

Mr Yanukovych lost to his Western-backed opponent Viktor Yushchenko, but managed to retain leadership of his Party of the Regions.

He was not out of favour for long, and was again appointed prime minister in 2006.

Four years later, his campaign for Ukraine's top job proved more successful and he defeated Orange Revolution leader and long-time opponent Yulia Tymoshenko by 3.48% of the vote.

Shortly afterwards Ms Tymoshenko was imprisoned for abuse of power; a move which many suggest was orchestrated by Mr Yanukovych.

The Tymoshenko case and successive allegations of corruption earned him considerable criticism from opponents and western leaders during his time in office. 

But it was his decision to pull out of a long-awaited free trade deal with the European Union which sparked the mass protests which led to his downfall. 

The former president is now in hiding, with an arrest warrant out against him.

He stands accused of "mass murder" over the death of dozens of protesters.

Nevertheless, in a move typical of his political career, Mr Yanukovych is yet to formally admit defeat, denouncing the revolution against him as a political "coup".

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Bitcoin Turmoil After Mt Gox Exchange 'Theft'

The Bitcoin exchange industry has moved to reassure holders of the virtual currency amid reports 6% of Bitcoins in circulation, worth roughly $375m (£225m), have been stolen.

The once-mighty Mt Gox exchange reportedly lost them in a cyber attack, with an apparent internal document suggesting more than 740,000 Bitcoins are missing.

The Mt Gox website is currently offline with trading suspended and withdrawals have been frozen.

The Tokyo-based exchange has not commented on the claims but its chief, Mark Karpeles, quit the board of the Bitcoin Foundation - an advocate for the virtual currency - on the eve of the shutdown.

He has not been seen in public since and his whereabouts remain unknown but in an email to the news agency Reuters he purportedly said: "We should have an official announcement ready soon-ish.

"We are currently at a turning point for the business. I can't tell much more for now as this also involves other parties."

Some 740,000 Bitcoins are reportedly missing from the exchange

The firm's Tokyo office is said by witnesses to be largely bare while a handful of angry investors are camped outside demanding news of their money and questioning whether the business remains solvent.

One of them, Bitcoin trader Kolin Burgess, said he had picketed the building since February 14 after flying in from London, hoping to get back $320,000 he had tied up in Bitcoins with Mt Gox.

"I may have lost all of my money. It hasn't shaken my trust in Bitcoin, but it has shaken my trust in Bitcoin exchanges."

The fate of his holding is unclear as Bitcoins are traded in an unregulated, decentralised marketplace.

But news of Mt Gox's apparent collapse prompted six other Bitcoin exchanges to release a joint statement distancing themselves from Mt Gox - insisting it should not be considered a reflection of the value of Bitcoin or the digital currency industry.

It said: "This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt Gox was the result of one company's actions.

"As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today.

"Mt Gox has confirmed its issues in private discussions with other members of the Bitcoin community.

"There are hundreds of trustworthy and responsible companies involved in Bitcoin.

"These companies will continue to build the future of money by making Bitcoin more secure and easy to use for consumers and merchants."

The signatories - Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, BTC China, Blockchain and Circle - released their statement two days after the reported cyber attack on Mt Gox.

Bitcoin's value - which has fluctuated wildly in recent times - fell 20% amid the shutdown at Mt Gox and is about two thirds below its peak of $1,100 at just above $410.

At its height, analsyts say Mt. Gox accounted for 80% of Bitcoin trading but its dominance started to slip a year ago as rumours circulated about the strength of its security protocols.

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A Broken Heart Really Can Kill You, Study Says

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

People who have been recently bereaved really can die of a broken heart, new research shows.

Doctors at a British medical school found the chance of suffering a heart attack or stroke doubles after a partner's death.

They believe grief results in extra physical stress, and may also make people forget or lose interest in taking their medication.

Dr Sunil Shah, senior lecturer in public health at St George's University of London, and co-author of the study, said: "We often use the term 'a broken heart' to signify the pain of losing a loved one and our study shows bereavement can have a direct effect on the health of the heart."

According to research published in the journal Jama Internal Medicine, 16 of 10,000 patients aged 60 and over suffered a heart attack or stroke within 30 days of their partner's death - twice the normal rate.

However, the risk began to fall again after the first month.

"There is evidence, from other studies, that bereavement and grief lead to a range of adverse responses including changes in blood clotting, blood pressure, stress hormone levels and heart rate control," said Dr Shah.

"In addition, we have found, in another study, that in the first few months after bereavement, individuals may not consistently take their regular preventive medication, such as cholesterol lowering drugs or aspirin."

Dr Iain Carey, senior research fellow at St George's University of London, said grief seems to have a clear physiological effect.

"A better understanding of psychological and social factors associated with acute cardiovascular events may provide opportunities for prevention and improved clinical care," he said.

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Harman Denies Colluding With Paedophile Group

Harriet Harman has said she regretted the "existence" of a paedophile right group linked to a civil liberties group she worked for.

However, the deputy Labour leader said she had nothing to apologise for and that she neither colluded with nor supported the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE).

She continued to insist the series of stories run by the Daily Mail over the links between the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), which Ms Harman worked for, and PIE, were a politically motivated "smear".

Harriet Harman has fought back against the Daily Mail on Twitter

Ms Harman said: "I am not going to apologise because I have got nothing to apologise for.

"I very much regret that this vile organisation, PIE, ever existed and that it ever had anything to do with NCCL but it did not affect my work at NCCL. 

"They had been pushed to the margins before I actually went to NCCL and to allege that I was involved in collusion with paedophilia or apologised for paedophilia is quite wrong and is a smear."

It comes after Ms Harman issued a fierce and lengthy rebuttal of claims by the Daily Mail that she was an "apologist for paedophilia".

The claims centre around Ms Harman's employment at the NCCL, the group now known as Liberty, in the late 1970s and early 1980s and the group's links with the paedophile group, which wanted to make child sex legal.

PIE, which has now been disbanded, was founded by Tom O'Carroll, who has been described as a "sexually predatory" paedophile. He was allowed to make a speech at the council's spring conference in 1977.

Ms Harman was the NCCL legal officer from 1978 to 1982, her husband, the Labour MP, Jack Dromey, was on the group's executive committee from 1970 to 1979. 

The former health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, was NCCL's general secretary from 1974 to 1983. Ms Hewitt has yet to comment on the matter.

The Daily Mail has run a series of stories about the links between the groups over the last 10 weeks and has demanded the three Labour stalwarts apologise to the victims of child sex abuse.

Labour says the series of stories is part of an ongoing "smear" campaign

However, in a statement issued on Monday, Ms Harman maintained that by the time she joined the group, PIE were in the process of being expelled from the NCCL.

Later on Monday, she told BBC's Newsnight: "It is ironic that they are accusing me of supporting indecency in relation to children when they themselves are not above producing photographs of very young girls, titivating photographs, in bikinis.

"I stand by what I was doing at NCCL and I stand by what I have done all the way through."

On Tuesday she tweeted a picture taken from the Daily Mail of girls in bikinis saying: "When it comes to decency and sexualisation of children, would you take lessons from the Daily Mail?"

The Daily Mail responded to Ms Harman's claims with equal robustness saying the statements from both her and her husband were "full of pedantry and obfuscation".

A statement from the paper issued on Monday night said: "They have failed to utter a word of contrition or sorrow about the NCCL's closeness to the notorious Paedophile Information Exchange, an organisation that validated the activities of a monster like Jimmy Savile. Nor do they utter a word of apology to the victims of PIE."

PIE was disbanded in 1984 after a number of its activists were jailed.

The Daily Mail claims PIE "validated the activities of Jimmy Savile"

Senior Labour sources on Tuesday told Sky News the series of articles about Ms Harman, Mr Dromey and Ms Hewitt was a continuation of a "smear" campaign that began with its piece about Labour leader Ed Miliband's father Ralph in September.

The piece, titled "The man who hated Britain", gave details of a diary entry written by a 17-year-old Ralph Miliband in which he expressed frustration with the country.

The source said: "We do think there is a connection with the Ralph Miliband row. The Daily Mail is trying to have some payback. There's a pattern of behaviour here.

"They smeared by innuendo over Ralph Miliband, they are smearing by association over Harriet Harman.

"This is not the way that political debate should be conducted, that's not what the British people want to see.

"It's not a British value to conduct political debate by smear."

Mr Miliband has given Ms Harman his full backing saying: "I know she has a long and proud record of being on the right side of all of these issues."

There have also been a number of discussions around the acceptability of behaviour in the 1970s that would simply be viewed as criminal today.

Conservative MP Nadine Dorries said on Twitter on Tuesday morning: "In 70's following legalisation of homosexuality (rightly) and a decade of 'free love' organisations like PIE genuinely thought they were next."

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Ex-Guantanamo Inmate Held Over 'Syria Terror'

Former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg is one of four people who have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences linked to the Syria conflict.

Police confirmed the 45-year-old was among three men and a woman from the West Midlands held on Tuesday morning.

Mr Begg, a British citizen, is suspected of attending a terrorist training camp and facilitating terrorism overseas.

A 36-year-old man, a woman aged 44 and her 20-year-old son were also held on suspicion of facilitating terrorism overseas.

Vehicles and electronic equipment were being removed from the suspects' homes in Hall Green, Shirley and Sparkhill.

Officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) were carrying out searches at the three addresses.

The four suspects are being held at a police station in the West Midlands area.

A police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that Moazzam Begg was arrested this morning.

The suspects were arrested at addresses across the West Midlands

"We are confirming this name as a result of the anticipated high public interest to accredited media."

She added naming Mr Begg does "not imply any guilt".

Earlier, Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards from the West Midlands CTU said: "All four arrests are connected.

"They were pre-planned and intelligence led. There was no immediate risk to public safety."

Mr Begg was held by the US government at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba for nearly three years after being arrested in Pakistan in February 2002.

He was detained on suspicion of being a member of al Qaeda before being released without charge in January 2005.

Moazzam Begg was held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for almost three years

He was allowed to return to the UK where he was arrested by police before being released without charge.

Mr Begg is now a director of Cage - which campaigns "against the War on Terror" - and has always maintained that he has never been involved in any kind of terrorist activity.

The arrests come after unrelated video and pictures emerged earlier this month of a man suspected of being Britain's first suicide bomber in Syria.

Adbul Waheed Majeed allegedly drove a truck into a jail in Aleppo and detonated a bomb on February 6.

The family of the 41-year-old, from Crawley, West Sussex, said they believed he was in Syria for humanitarian purposes.

He is among an estimated 20 Britons who are thought to have been killed in the Syrian conflict.

Ministers have reportedly been told around 250 of 400 British-based extremists who went to Syria to train and fight have returned to the UK.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire has said the security threat posed by these individuals is a "big problem" for MI5 and the police.

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Two Men Cleared Of Attacking Clive Mantle

Two men, who were accused of attacking Casualty actor Clive Mantle, have been cleared of all charges.

During the trial, Philip McGilvray admitted biting Mr Mantle in the ear at a Travelodge in Newcastle last year but said it was an act of self-defence.

Alan French and Philip McGilvray

He had described the actor - who also stars in Game of Thrones - as a "big monster" who pinned him to the floor after leaving his room to tell them to be quiet.

The pair had started drinking in the afternoon before returning to the hotel in the early hours.

McGilvray, 33, and co-defendant Alan French, 32, both denied wounding with intent.

More follows...

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Guns Returned Before Puppy Farm Shootings

Police returned a number of shotguns to the owner of a puppy farm seven months before a mother and daughter were shot dead there, it has emerged.

The man, named in reports as dog breeder John Lowe, 82, is suspected of killed the two women and four dogs at Keepers Cottage Stud in Farnham, Surrey.

A police spokesman said: "In May 2013 a shotgun licence and a number of licensed shotguns were seized from the address, however the licence and guns were returned in July 2013.

A long-barrelled firearm was recovered from the scene

"We are in the process of establishing if one of these licensed guns was the firearm recovered on Sunday.

"Surrey Police is reviewing the return of the licence to ensure compliance with Home Office guidelines and has referred this matter to the IPCC (the Independent Police Complaints Commission)."

Armed police were called to the property at 10am on Sunday where the body of one woman was found inside.

The other woman was found dead outside near animal pens.

The RSPCA took a number of animals from the property

The victims were named as Christine Lee, 66, and her 40-year-old daughter, Lucy.

Post-mortem examinations showed they died from gunshot wounds.

A long-barrelled firearm was recovered from the scene.

Three German shepherds and a labrador were also shot dead.

The RSPCA removed the dogs' bodies and rescued a large number of other animals from the property.

The killings happened in the Surrey town of Farnham

A spokesman for the charity said: "We have already removed one cat and 10 dogs, including a number of puppies, from the property. These include chihuahuas, pomeranians, shih tzus and an Old English sheepdog-type.

"Today we will be removing a small number of exotic birds from the property. At present our staff are caring for a large number of chickens at the property and we have bought in our specialist equine workers to ensure the health and welfare of four horses.

"We are currently working with other agencies to make arrangements for their long-term care."

The RSPA confirmed it made a number of visits to the property over the past few years.

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