Cole Whirlwind Wedding Defended By Roberts

Cheryl Cole's former Girls Aloud bandmate Nicola Roberts has defended her friend's decision to marry her boyfriend after just three months.

Cole announced on Monday that she and French restaurateur Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini had tied the knot in a small, private ceremony on the Caribbean island of Mustique.

Cole, 31, posted a photo on Twitter revealing the news, alongside a photo of her engagement and wedding rings.

The singer has been criticised by some on social media for heading down the aisle so quickly but Roberts said the newlywed is "happier than ever".

Cheryl and Jean-Bernard pictured in London in May

She also posted a message on Instagram which read: "You can be in a relationship for two years and feel nothing; you can be in a relationship for two months and feel everything.

"Time is not a measure of quality; of infatuation, or of love."

There has been speculation that Cole may be pregnant but her agent has told Sky News that this is untrue.

The X Factor judge has kept her ex-husband Ashley Cole's surname since they divorced in 2010 but on Monday night changed her Twitter handle from @cherylcole to @cherylofficial.

Cole shared this image of her rings. Pic: cherylcole.com

Cole also posted a message saying: "Thank you for all your kind messages and well wishes."

She has not officially confirmed whether she will become Mrs Fernandez-Versini.

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Female Line-Up An Attempt To Win Votes

Cabinet Reshuffle At A Glance

Updated: 2:13pm UK, Tuesday 15 July 2014

David Cameron has announced a cabinet reshuffle as he prepares for a General Election next year. Here the major comings and goings:

:: Philip Hammond becomes Foreign Secretary, replacing William Hague.

:: William Hague becomes Leader of the House of Commons, replacing Andrew Lansley, and remains First Secretary of State.

:: Liz Truss becomes Secretary of State of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, replacing Owen Paterson

:: Nicky Morgan becomes Secretary of State for Education, replacing Michael Gove. She will continue as Minister for Women and Equalities.

:: Michael Gove becomes Commons Chief Whip, replacing Sir George Young. Mr Gove will have an enhanced role in campaigning and doing broadcast media interviews.

:: Michael Fallon becomes Secretary of State for Defence, replacing Philip Hammond

:: Greg Clark becomes Minister for Science and Universities, replacing David Willetts. He also becomes Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, replacing David Laws.

:: Stephen Crabb becomes Secretary of State for Wales, replacing David Jones.

:: Baroness Tina Stowell becomes Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, replacing Lord Hill.

:: Jeremy Wright becomes Attorney General, replacing Dominic Grieve.

:: Mattthew Hancock becomes Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Energy, replacing Michael Fallon.

:: Mike Penning becomes Minister of State at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, replacing Damian Green.

:: Mark Harper becomes Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, replacing Mike Penning.

:: Nick Boles becomes Minister of State for Department of Business and Department of Education, replacing Matthew Hancock.

:: David Gauke becomes Financial Secretary to the Treasury, replacing Nicky Morgan.

:: John Hayes becomes Minister of State for Transport, replacing Baroness Kramer.

:: Anna Soubry becomes Minister of State at Ministry of Defence, replacing Mark Francois.

:: Oliver Letwin becomes Lord Privy Seal, replacing Andrew Lansley. He also remains Minister for Government Policy.

:: Clare Perry becomes Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Transport.

:: Priti Patel becomes Exchequer Secretary at the Treasury, replacing David Gauke.

:: Amber Rudd becomes Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Energy and Climate Change.

:: Penny Mordaunt becomes a junior minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government.

:: Nick Gibb returns to the Government as Schools Minister.

:: Desmond Swayne becomes minister at the Department for International Development

:: Robert Buckland has become Solicitor General, replacing Oliver Heald.

:: Julian Brazier has become junior Defence Minister.

:: George Freeman has become Minister for Life Sciences.

:: Andrew Murrison becomes Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office.

:: Liam Fox confirms he was approached to be a minister in the Foreign Office but turned it down.

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'The Blob' Eats Up Education Secretary Gove

Cabinet Reshuffle At A Glance

Updated: 2:13pm UK, Tuesday 15 July 2014

David Cameron has announced a cabinet reshuffle as he prepares for a General Election next year. Here the major comings and goings:

:: Philip Hammond becomes Foreign Secretary, replacing William Hague.

:: William Hague becomes Leader of the House of Commons, replacing Andrew Lansley, and remains First Secretary of State.

:: Liz Truss becomes Secretary of State of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, replacing Owen Paterson

:: Nicky Morgan becomes Secretary of State for Education, replacing Michael Gove. She will continue as Minister for Women and Equalities.

:: Michael Gove becomes Commons Chief Whip, replacing Sir George Young. Mr Gove will have an enhanced role in campaigning and doing broadcast media interviews.

:: Michael Fallon becomes Secretary of State for Defence, replacing Philip Hammond

:: Greg Clark becomes Minister for Science and Universities, replacing David Willetts. He also becomes Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, replacing David Laws.

:: Stephen Crabb becomes Secretary of State for Wales, replacing David Jones.

:: Baroness Tina Stowell becomes Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, replacing Lord Hill.

:: Jeremy Wright becomes Attorney General, replacing Dominic Grieve.

:: Mattthew Hancock becomes Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Energy, replacing Michael Fallon.

:: Mike Penning becomes Minister of State at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, replacing Damian Green.

:: Mark Harper becomes Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, replacing Mike Penning.

:: Nick Boles becomes Minister of State for Department of Business and Department of Education, replacing Matthew Hancock.

:: David Gauke becomes Financial Secretary to the Treasury, replacing Nicky Morgan.

:: John Hayes becomes Minister of State for Transport, replacing Baroness Kramer.

:: Anna Soubry becomes Minister of State at Ministry of Defence, replacing Mark Francois.

:: Oliver Letwin becomes Lord Privy Seal, replacing Andrew Lansley. He also remains Minister for Government Policy.

:: Clare Perry becomes Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Transport.

:: Priti Patel becomes Exchequer Secretary at the Treasury, replacing David Gauke.

:: Amber Rudd becomes Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Energy and Climate Change.

:: Penny Mordaunt becomes a junior minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government.

:: Nick Gibb returns to the Government as Schools Minister.

:: Desmond Swayne becomes minister at the Department for International Development

:: Robert Buckland has become Solicitor General, replacing Oliver Heald.

:: Julian Brazier has become junior Defence Minister.

:: George Freeman has become Minister for Life Sciences.

:: Andrew Murrison becomes Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office.

:: Liam Fox confirms he was approached to be a minister in the Foreign Office but turned it down.

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Police Face Probe After Couple Stabbed To Death

By Adele Robinson, Midlands Correspondent

An investigation is under way after a couple were found stabbed to death 20 minutes after emergency services left their home.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is looking into how West Midlands Police handled the incident.

Pin Chang, 58, and his wife Quoi Chang, 50, died at their home in Hermitage Road, Solihull, in the early hours of July 7.

The couple's 23-year-old son was found with serious injuries at the property. He is currently under police guard in hospital in connection with the deaths.

The West Midlands Ambulance Service was first called to the home by a resident at the property at 3.39am. Medics then alerted police who arrived at 3.56am.

Forensics officers were seen at the house

The police officers subsequently left the property at 4.48am, and the ambulance crew at 5.06am.

It is understood that the decision was made to refer the son for a mental health assessment, to be carried out at a later date.

However, a 999 call was made 11 minutes later, at 5.17am. Ambulance crews then returned to the scene at 5.26am, 20 minutes after leaving.

Police officers arrived at the property at 5.33am, 45 minutes after leaving.

Pin Chang and Quoi Chang were then found at the property with fatal stab injuries.

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Israel Resumes Airstrikes As Truce Bid Fails

A Complex Web Of Friends And Enemies

Updated: 10:16am UK, Sunday 13 July 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel at dawn. The opening of a new front for Israel already engaged in an escalating air campaign in the Gaza Strip? No.

Neither the Israelis nor Hezbollah, which has an arsenal of 100,000 rockets and controls southern Lebanon, are that stupid.

The missile attack on Israel's north was an attempt by Sunni militants to spark a confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel that both know would be a zero sum.

Why would Sunnis, in all probability descendants of Palestinian refugees from what is now Israel, want to do that?

It's Hezbollah, a Shia movement, after all, that has been a major conduit of experts, funding and modern rockets to Hamas, a Sunni organisation, in Gaza. Hamas and Hezbollah are allies.

But only when it comes to fighting Israel.

In Syria, Hamas has condemned the Assad regime, which like Hezbollah is backed by Iran.

Sunnis of Palestinian descent are among volunteers who have joined rebel groups fighting Damascus, while Hezbollah has sent thousands of its best fighters to the frontlines to defend the regime of Bashar al Assad.

There is a logic at work here.

If Sunni groups in south Lebanon can sucker the Israelis into a war with Hezbollah they could enjoy the double whammy of reduced pressure on Gaza, and the use of Israel's devastating air power against Hezbollah, the Sunnis' enemies in Syria.

No better example of an attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

It won't happen because both Hezbollah and Israel, foes who have the greatest respect for one another, saw through the plot some time back. It's not the first time it has been tried.

But it does signal just how the Middle East's tectonic plates of conflict have shifted and can overlap.

The explosion of sectarian Muslim war between Sunni and Shia in Syria, which has spread into Iraq and has destabilised Lebanon, has become the defining clash in a new age of chaos.

Rival regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran use proxies to vie for influence and control.

The Saudis have become increasingly nervous of the spread of a Shia crescent from Tehran through Baghdad to Damascus and south Lebanon.

But Tehran has also used enemy forces to bolster the positions of its allies.

According to intelligence sources Muhsin al Fadhli, once a senior al Qaeda figure based in Iraq, has taken up an operational role inside Syria - at the instigation of the Iranian government.

Why would Tehran release someone to fight a key client and ally in Damascus?

Because radical groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have fought harder against fellow rebel groups than they have against the Assad regime.

Tehran has split the rebels.

But now ISIS threatens Iran's client government in Baghdad showing that an enemy's enemy may be a friend from time to time, but will remain an enemy.

This may be complicated, but there is no excuse for stupidity in the Middle East. Failure to comprehend this can be fatal.

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Severe Weather Warning: Storms To Follow Sun

After a week of scorching temperatures, parts of Britain look likely to have to put summer on hold as torrential rain sweeps in.

A severe weather warning has been issued for much of the country on Saturday, with the Met Office predicting heavy, thundery showers, frequent lightning and hail may develop everywhere except Scotland, Northern Ireland and the west of Wales.

It said "significant flooding" is possible from surface water and smaller rivers.

The gloomy outlook is in stark contrast to the rest of the week, with highs of 30C expected in the South East by Friday.

Forecasters say this week will be the hottest period of the year so far, with temperatures exceeding those in sunny hotspots like Ibiza and Gran Canaria.

The warm weather is down to hot, humid air being pumped up from Spain.

But while the rising temperatures may be welcomed by many, a Met Office spokesman warned the conditions may also allow "large thunderstorms" to develop during the early hours of Saturday.

The spokesman said the yellow "be alert" warning that is currently in place may be revised over coming days, adding: "The development of these (showers) is uncertain but where they do form, some torrential downpours are possible with frequent lightning, hail and locally strong gusts.

"Significant flooding is possible where these do occur from surface water as well as small, fast responding watercourses.

"Frequent lightning, hail and strong gusts could also be an additional hazard.

"The public should be aware of the risk of disruption from any of these elements."

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Nurse 'Plotted To Kill And Eat' Teenage Girl

A nurse bought an axe as he planned to chop and eat a girl he believed to be just 14 years old, a court has heard.

Dale Bolinger, 57, used a fetish website to discuss beheading and eating women and girls for sexual gratification, his trial at Canterbury Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Martin Yale said Bolinger, formerly from Canterbury, had thought he was chatting to a 14-year-old Mexican called Eva and tried to persuade her travel over from Germany to meet him.

Bolinger allegedly told the girl: "The idea of making love and then eating you is a very great turn on.

"I have been called a very generous lover and I would be very generous to you before I prepped you for the table."

On September 17, 2012 - the day before she was due to meet him - Bolinger bought an axe and then, on September 18, he went to Ashford International Station to pick "Eva" up, the court was told.

She did not arrive and her identity has never been established.

The court also heard that Bolinger told other users that he had eaten a 39-year-old black woman and a five-year-old child.

"There were discussions about how much more tender the meat is from children," Mr Yale said.

The chats with "Eva" were uncovered by the FBI's New York office, which investigates webchat rooms discussing the rape, killing and cannibalism of women, prosecutor Martin Yale told the jury.

They found the email address being used was from a computer in Kent and passed the information on to local police.

Kent Police traced the account to Bolinger, whose home and computer was searched.

Police found discs containing indecent images of children which had been photoshopped and labelled: "Dinner; one in, one waiting; the BBQ; the BBQ2 and BBQ3."

Bolinger admitted the pictures were his but he insisted he had gone to the train station because he was worried about the girl he had contacted.

If she had arrived, he said, he would have gone straight to the police.

He was subsequently arrested and charged with one count of attempting to meet a child under the age of 16 following sexual grooming.

The prosecutor said it was not the first time Bolinger had tried to act out his fantasies.

Bolinger, he told the jury, had pleaded guilty in February to administering poison or a noxious substance to a woman after putting a cloth soaked in dry cleaning fluid over a female friend's mouth in July 2010.

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Gove Leaves Education Job As Hague Quits

Michael Gove will leave his job as Education Secretary in the biggest reshuffle of the top jobs in Government for four years.

The 46-year-old, a controversial figure among teachers, has been swapped to the role of Commons Chief Whip - a move described as "definitely a demotion" by Sky's Political Editor Adam Boulton.

In a shake-up described as a cull of the "pale, male and stale", a number of women were promoted into key posts, as has been expected, ahead of next year's General Election.

Nicky Morgan takes over from Michael Gove as Education Secretary

The first to secure a high-profile role was Nicky Morgan from Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Minister for Women to fill the vacancy left by Mr Gove. It is a rapid rise for an MP who has only held a seat in the House of Commons for four years.

Liz Truss, also only an MP since 2010, has moved from Education Minister to Environment Secretary to replace Owen Paterson, who was criticised for his response to the flooding crisis over the winter.

Esther McVey, another of the 2010 intake, had been tipped for a move but remains as Employment Minister, although she will now attend Cabinet.

Liz Truss is the Government's new Environment Secretary

Anna Soubry has been promoted to Defence Minister with Claire Perry going to Transport as Parliamentary Under Secretary.

Priti Patel has been made Exchequer Secretary at the Treasury and Penny Mordaunt has become a Communities and Local Government minister. Amber Rudd has become an Energy and Climate Change minister.

The wide-ranging reshuffle also sees the shock departure of William Hague, who has stepped down as Foreign Secretary.

Esther McVey stays at employment but is given Cabinet role

The 53-year-old will become Leader of the House Of Commons before standing down as an MP at the next General Election in 2015.

He is replaced by outgoing Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, whose job has been taken by Michael Fallon.

Mr Hague denied Mr Hammond's appointment marked a more Eurosceptic approach in Government while Mr Hammond said: "I'm going to focus on making sure that we have a successful renegotiation with our European partners.

"I don't think the way to enter a negotiation is to start issuing threats."

Philip Hammond replaces William Hague as Foreign Secretary

Mr Hague will now help to coordinate Government policy and become a "leading campaigner in key constituencies".

He will also be the Prime Minister's special representative on preventing sexual violence in conflict, following his work with UN special envoy and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie.

Sky's Political Correspondent Sophy Ridge said: "When they said this would be a significant reshuffle, they actually meant it."

Dominic Grieve lost his role as Attorney General and has been replaced by Jeremy Wright, while Policing Minister Damian Green also lost his job, with Mike Penning getting a ministerial role in the Home Office .

Ken Clarke pictured arriving at No 10 on Monday

Mr Cameron has also announced Lord Hill will be the UK's candidate for European Commissioner, to replace Baroness Ashton in Brussels, leaving his post as Leader of the House of Lords. Baroness Tina Stowell will become the new Leader of the Lords.

Matt Hancock, a key ally of Chancellor George Osborne, takes on the post of Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Energy from Mr Fallon and will also take on the job of Minister for Portsmouth, attending Cabinet.

Mark Harper, who was last seen resigning as immigration minister after he was discovered to be employing an illegal immigrant as a cleaner, has returned as Work and Pensions minister.

Liam Fox, who had been tipped for a return, confirmed he had been approached to be Foreign Office Minister but had turned down the offer.

Mr Hague with Angelina Jolie and US Secretary of State John Kerry

Meanwhile, Ken Clarke is retiring from Government at 74, and on Monday announced he was stepping down as minister without portfolio, bringing to an end a front bench career stretching back to 1972.

Speaking shortly after Mr Hague announced his departure, the Prime Minister paid tribute to him as a "first class Foreign Secretary" and  "a close confidante, a wise counsellor and a great friend".

Welsh Secretary David Jones has been replaced by Stephen Crabb and Transport Minister Stephen Hammond and Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd are also out.

International Development Minister Alan Duncan is standing down at his own request, while Universities Minister David Willetts has also stood down and has been replaced by Greg Clark.

In a shake-up of the Civil Service, Sir Bob Kerslake has stepped down as permanent secretary of the Department for Communities and Local Government, his role as head of the Civil Service will be handed to Sir Jeremy Heywood. 

A new role of Civil Service chief executive is to be created and will report to Sir Jeremy.

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Tory MP's Half-Brother Charged With Sex Abuse

The half-brother of Conservative MP John Whittingdale has been charged with alleged historical sex abuse.

Scotland Yard said Charles Napier was charged along with a second man, Richard Alston, 69, from Suffolk.

The charges date back to the late 1970s and concern an alleged victim who was 11 years old at the time.

Napier, aged 67, from Dorset, is accused of one count of inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency.

Alston has been charged with five counts of indecent assault and three counts of gross indecency with a child.

The pair are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on July 29.

They were arrested by police last year under Operation Cayacos, one of two strands of a wider criminal investigation called Operation Fairbank.

Cayacos was launched after Labour MP Tom Watson in 2012 used parliamentary privilege to claim that a file of evidence used to convict Peter Righton of importing child pornography in 1992 contained "clear evidence" of a sex abuse gang.

A separate investigation, Operation Fernbridge, is looking at claims linked to Elm Guest House in Barnes, south-west London.

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'Trojan Horse' School's Board Resigns

School 'Trojan Horse': A Timeline

Updated: 5:15pm UK, Tuesday 15 July 2014

:: March 7

A letter is sent to Birmingham City Council, apparently from an Islamic extremist, giving details of a "takeover" of Birmingham schools known as Operation Trojan Horse. The plot, it says, has seen four head teachers removed from post and replaced with Islamist appointments.

It highlights 12 other schools that are to be targeted. The letter has now been widely denounced as fake but is thought to have been written by someone who was trying to draw attention to the problem.

:: March 10

Birmingham City Council launches a five-point response plan announcing a six-month investigation into allegations to be led by former head teacher Ian Kershaw. A review group will oversee the work.

:: March 22

Park View Academy, one of the schools at the centre of the allegations is to be placed in special measures, according to senior education sources, who leak the details of an Ofsted inspection.

::April 14

Birmingham City Council announces Peter Clarke, the former Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism boss, will oversee the Trojan Horse inquiry. Community leaders say it sends out the wrong message.

:: May 28

Head teacher Tim Boyes discloses he warned the Department for Education in 2010 about a plot by Islamic hardliners to infiltrate Birmingham schools.

:: June 2

A leaked Ofsted inspection on the Golden Hillock school finds it "failed to protect children from extremism".

::June 3

The former chairman of governors at Golden Hillock, John Ray, says he raised Islamist infiltration fears with John Major's government in 1994.

:: June 4

Comments by Education Secretary Michael Gove are leaked to The Times in which he is critical of the Home Office approach to tackling extremism. In response the Home Office releases a letter from Theresa May to Mr Gove asking why his department did not tackle fears of an Islamist takeover plot when they were raised in 2010.

:: June 5

A leak of the Ofsted report into Golden Hillock school, run by the Park View Educational Trust, shows it is to be placed in special measures.

:: June 6

After three statements insisting they work well together, Mr Gove says he is "not at war with Theresa May".

:: June 7

Mr Gove is made to apologise for his comments and Mrs May's aide Fiona Cunningham is forced to resign for her response to The Times story. She told journalists: "Why is the DfE wanting to blame other people for information they had in 2010? Lord knows what more they have overlooked on the subject of the protection of kids in state schools? It scares me."

:: June 8

Downing Street releases some details of Ofsted reports on the 21 Birmingham schools that have been inspected as part of the Trojan Horse response. Schools are accused by Ofsted of covering up evidence of infiltration and some are placed in special measures.

David Cameron orders Michael Gove to launch spot checks on schools.

:: June 17

An assistant principal at Park View claimed "plain old Islamophobia" was behind the claims. Lee Donaghy told a panel of MPs that people were failing to differentiate between "Muslims", "terrorists" and "extremists" and twisting events at his school.

:: July 9

Chief inspector of schools Sir Michael Wilshaw told MPs on the education select committee that there was no evidence of actual extremism.

However his inspectors had found schools implicated in the so-called "Trojan Horse" plot used deliberate intimidation against those who did not conform to their ideology, leaving pupils at risk.

:: July 15

The chairman and board of trustees of the Park View Education Trust resign. Michael Gove becomes a victim of the Cabinet reshuffle, losing his job as Education Secretary to Nicky Morgan. Mr Gove becomes Commons chief whip in a period of legislative calm ahead of the next General Election.

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