Virgin Apologises To Navy Engineer Over Uniform

Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson has admitted cabin crew made a mistake by making a servicewoman change out of her uniform before flying - in case it offended other passengers.

Petty Officer Nicky Howse, a helicopter technician, was told she would not be allowed on the service from Heathrow to Los Angeles if she did not remove her combat fatigues, according to reports.

A security official and Virgin Atlantic staff incorrectly told the 32-year-old the company did not allow military personnel to fly in uniform.

Richard Branson said it was a "dreadful mistake"

Sir Richard tweeted: "An airport security guard made a dreadful mistake in telling our staff a service woman could not wear her uniform on our flight.

"Our team made a mistake in following that advice. The @VirginAtlantic people involved are mortified and have apologised profusely."

Petty Officer Howse, from Ipswich, Suffolk, described her "shame" at the experience in emails to a civilian friend, according to the Daily Mail.

She wrote: "It was horrific. I was made to feel uncomfortable in my own country for wearing the uniform I wear to defend the place.

"It made me ashamed of my country that a British serviceman can't travel in uniform. I was so distressed."

She was travelling back to her three-month deployment in the US after compassionate leave to attend her grandfather's funeral.

A statement from Virgin Atlantic said: "Virgin Atlantic does not have a policy which prevents passengers travelling in uniform and we are pleased to welcome any military personnel on board our flights in uniform.

"This was a completely isolated case in which our staff were incorrectly advised by a security agent that the passenger would have to remove her uniform.

"We have made contact with the passenger in question to express our deep regret for any upset caused."

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Qatada: May Pledges To Scrap Human Rights Act

Theresa May has pledged that a Conservative government would scrap the Human Rights Act, which she claims has stopped Britain from deporting the radical preacher Abu Qatada.

The Home Secretary also went so far as to indicate the Conservatives could go further by pulling out of its European obligations on Human Rights altogether, an association dating back more than 60 years.

Ms May, who is being touted as a possible future Conservative leader, told Tory activists that the party must "consider very carefully our relationship" with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

She said that Britain must stop human rights laws interfering with its ability to protect the nation.

She pointed to the case of Qatada, once described as Osama bin Laden's right hand man in Europe, who was on Saturday returned to custody following his arrest for allegedly breaching his bail conditions.

Ms May said that the Strasbourg-based court had constantly moved the goalposts on Britain's request for his deportation to Jordan.

"We need to stop human rights legislation interfering with our ability to fight crime and control immigration," she told the Victory 2015 conference.

"That's why, as our last manifesto promised, the next Conservative government will scrap the Human Rights Act, and it's why we should also consider very carefully our relationship with the European Court of Human Rights and the convention it enforces.

Qatada arrives at his London home after his release from prison in November

"When Strasbourg constantly moves the goalposts and prevents the deportation of dangerous men like Abu Qatada, we have to ask ourselves to what end are we signatories to the convention?"

She added: "So by 2015 we'll need a plan for dealing with the European Court of Human Rights. And yes, I want to be clear that all options - including leaving the convention altogether - should be on the table."

The Government is to make a bid at the Court of Appeal on Monday to overturn a judge's decision to allow Qatada, who has been convicted of terrorism charges in Jordan, to remain in Britain.

Ms May made her comments to Tory grassroots as part of a wide-ranging speech in which she also said that she expects the Conservative's public sector reform agenda to "become even more radical" and could include allowing companies to make a profit delivering frontline services.

The country's most senior judge, Lord Neuberger, last week pointed out that if Britain was to scrap the Human Rights Act and end its association with the European Convention on Human Rights, it would also have to withdraw from the United Nations.

He pointed out that it is under the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights that terrorists could not be deported to countries where they might be subjected to poor treatment.

Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, said: "She says she wants freedom yet she wants to abolish the Human Rights Act which protects freedom of speech, freedom from torture and freedom of religion.

"And she wants to pull out of the European Convention which is protecting basic freedoms in emerging democracies across Europe and has nothing to do with her failure in deporting fewer foreign criminals."

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Paul Gascoigne Returns Home After US Rehab

Former England football star Paul Gascoigne has told how he thought he was about to die as doctors tied him to a bed to help him beat his alcohol addiction.

The player, who has fought a lengthy battle against alcoholism, said his body went into seizure during a detoxification treatment at an American clinic.

He said doctors said it was the "worst detox" they had ever seen.

"Three doctors didn't think I would make it. It has got to inspire me to never let this happen again.

"I've come through that - death. I was dead," Gascoigne told The Sun newspaper.

He added: "I thought I was on my way out. I looked like a corpse. I was a total wreck."

Gascoigne: once one of England's most naturally gifted players

The 45-year-old said he was in a coma for three days and was admitted to intensive care.

Gascoigne has returned to Britain after more than a month at the rehabilitation clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.

His treatment was organised by former England cricketer Ronnie Irani and radio presenter Chris Evans, a long-term friend.

The move came following a charity appearance in Northampton during which the star appeared unwell and shaking, before breaking down and sobbing on stage in front of a room full of fans.

The world of football has shown its concern at the latest troubled period in the life of Gascoigne, one of England's most naturally gifted players ever.

Gascoigne was sectioned five years ago under the Mental Health Act.

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Sex Trafficking Victims 'Failed' By Authorities

Full Interview With Sophie Hayes

Updated: 12:52pm UK, Sunday 10 March 2013

Sophie Hayes speaks to Sky's Richard Suchet about her life as a sexual and domestic slave at the hands of the man she thought was her boyfriend.

SOPHIE: "I'd known my trafficker for five years before I was actually trafficked, from the UK to Italy. We'd become friends. Very good friends. Then I went on holiday ... and ... just that it would be a holiday ... until three days in, he told me that he hadn't waited five years for me to just leave and that actually I was there to work for him as a prostitute, and if I didn't there would be severe consequences."

SUCHET: "So you did?"

SOPHIE: "Yeah I did. The first night I thought 'this isn't real, this can't happen' and really believed that maybe the next day I could say 'actually, I just want to go home now' until ... I saw that he just wasn't the person that I thought he was. Everything that he was, everything that I knew had completely changed.

"He'd become aggressive, violent. Threats against me, threats against my family. My younger brother was only thirteen at the time and he was the one that had all of the death threats ... and ... the night that he told me, he strangled me, pinned me up against the wall, and told me that if I didn't do as I was told, I would be punished."

SUCHET: "Mentally, how do you cope with that? What goes through your head the first day, the second day, the third day? Where does your mind take you?"

SOPHIE: "Total disbelief. So ... going from a world where I had a good job, a relatively happy life, to another world with someone who had pretended to be something that he wasn't ... it just didn't feel like that was possible or that that could really happen. There's no way I could have done what he expected me to do.

"But as the days went on, I knew that actually there was no way out because he told me that he had friends in the police, that if I tried to run then someone would be there to catch me and ... the more .... the more time past ... I knew. I knew I would never escape him, I couldn't run anywhere ... until a few weeks later I just ... I just switched off.

"There was nothing left anymore. I wasn't me anymore and ... the best thing to do was ... just ... pretend it wasn't happening, that it was happening to someone else and ... just accept it."

SUCHET: "So you just switch off inside, do you?"

SOPHIE: "Completely. To begin with, I tried to hold on. I would look in the mirror and just ... want to scream. And I'd see bruises which I'd never had before.

"Until one night everything changed, with one of the men that came. After that night, I just let go. To the point that I stopped caring. Because nothing I could do or say, no matter how many tears, how many screams, nothing would change the situation ... because I was too afraid to run.

"Many people have asked me: 'Why? Why would you not run away? Why would you not ask for help?' ... but he was the person who kept me from asking anybody to help me, knowing that my family were at risk - my younger brother could be taken.

"He'd already taken me to a lake to show me that if I did something wrong, that's where he would take me. He would put a knife to my neck, a gun in my mouth, a gun inside of me. I knew there was no boundary for him. All I was to him was money. Other than that he didn't care."

SUCHET: "Was it always sexual? Or were there other things you had to do, like chores round the house, or looking after him in some other way? Or was it purely a sexual thing?"

SOPHIE: "It's always more than just sexual when someone holds you in that way. I was only allowed to speak when he said that was ok. When I cleaned, it had to be cleaned in a certain way. If I didn't do it properly, he would ... hurt me again. 

"If I cooked in the wrong way, there would be consequences. For example, I tried to make pasta one night and he told me there was too much sauce. So he smashed the plate ahead of me, and cleaned the floor up with my hair and then told me he was going to shave my hair off in punishment because I couldn't clean properly, I couldn't cook properly and what kind of a person was I that couldn't even do the most basic things?"

SUCHET: "I don't think people can really imagine how you end up in a situation like that. I mean, people might think you would see it coming?"

SOPHIE: "The general perception is that this happens to girls from a different country, from poor backgrounds, and that they perhaps should see it coming, when actually it's the opposite.

"The traffickers are professional businessmen. They have been doing this for years. How to groom a girl. How to make somebody feel completely isolated so that you don't see it coming. And then you're at the point that you're so frightened of them that you can't think about anything anymore, you can't do anything anymore and ... there's no other choice. No way of escape. They have you as a total prisoner."

SUCHET: "So how did you get out?"

SOPHIE: "During the time, I'd lost quite a lot of weight, so I'd gone down to about six stone. I was only allowed to eat once a day. I'd had pneumonia twice, a broken shoulder blade, and at the point I came out I'd been really ill.

"I couldn't have sex anymore. Because some nights I would have sex with up to 35 different men and it was just so painful. So I managed to go to a hospital. The hospital kept me there for a week. But they told me I had no passport, no ID, and that I would have to pay 10,000 euros.

"I managed to steal a moment to call my mum and they drove over to come and collect me, and drove me back from Italy, back to the UK."

SUCHET: "So, effectively, you became useless to him? That's how you managed to get out of his sight?"

SOPHIE: "I was still with a client when I managed to go to the hospital. I didn't tell him where I'd gone. He told me after three days of being in hospital that he was taking me out because he'd actually met some Russians, and he was going to take some girls. And ... I don't know whether or not I would have been sold to the Russians.

"And when I did come back to the UK, he took my credit card off me, and booked me a ticket to go back to Italy, and that I had to go back to work. He was never willing to just let me go. He would have just carried on. To him, he said I was a gold mine, and that because I was British I was actually the perfect person because I could stay freely in [Italy], and people paid more for me, so I was the perfect person for him."

SUCHET: "What was the reaction from the authorities when you got back to the UK?"

SOPHIE: "I had quite a challenging time with the authorities when I came back because at that time no one really knew - or understood - actually what is human trafficking and, because they'd never dealt with cases of somebody being British being taken out of the country and then back in, there wasn't really anywhere for me to go, or any real understanding.

"One policeman actually told me: "Well, you won't do that again," which ... just .... again made me lose all faith ... and ... I had no one. I was on my own. I had my mum, and my mum helped me through it. And I just .... had to pick myself up and carry on and try to live a normal life again."

SUCHET: "How did you finally extricate yourself from him?"

SOPHIE: "It turns out he was wanted in this country for an attempted shooting, years back. The police had him under surveillance and had an arrest warrant out for him. In 2008, when he returned to the UK, they performed a stop and search on him - but made it look completely random.

"They obviously knew he'd have fake documents and that they could arrest him on those grounds. And they knew that his fingerprint would then link him to other crimes. They sent me abroad for a week while all that happened so it would look as if I had nothing to do with his arrest. Anyway, he went to prison and was eventually deported back to Albania."

SUCHET: "You seem to me like the most stoic and normal person, if I may say. No one would ever be able to tell what you've been through. But is there a part of you that feels a little bit damaged? Do you ever get over something like that?"

SOPHIE: "This is something that I will never get over. But can I manage it? Yes, it has become more manageable. Although many people still don't know who I really am.

"I still have a lot of physical problems. After he broke my shoulder blade, I still have therapy and I need a lot of treatment on my back. And also ... mentally I have to stay really strong ... because ... something like that can't happen for no reason.

"And this is why I feel I have to try and help other women and other girls who are in the same situation, or could be at risk of that situation. I tell myself a lot that I can't let my past steal my future. And no matter what happened, I am still alive. And regardless of how painful it is, how many memories I have, how many times I cry ... actually it's the future, and the hope, and the hope I bring to others, that keeps me strong."

SUCHET: "Do you still cry about it?"

SOPHIE: "Yeah, if I see things or hear things and generally when I can see another women being abused or beaten - that brings it all back to me. Every day I can still picture how much he hurt me and how much he frightened me. What he made me do, hurts me. What he did to me and what he said to me is the memory that stays with me and the echoes that I can still hear."

SUCHET: "Do you trust men? Do you have problems trusting men anymore?"

SOPHIE: "I ... I would like to believe that I can still have trust in people because I can't allow one person to take over how I feel and how I behave in the future, and dictate how I have relationships. So I really try and make sure it doesn't, again, take over me, and absorb, and change my perception on men."

SUCHET: Where is the man who trafficked you? And do you now feel safe?

SOPHIE: "I don't know where he is. We've tried to locate him and police have markers on him so to speak. Potentially he's in prison (abroad). But no, I will never feel 100% free and safe. He will always be on my shoulder.

"So on a mental level, there's always a part of me that won't be free, that can't escape. But setting up the Sophie Hayes foundation has made me feel like he can't dictate my future. I can take a grip of my future, and, in that sense, I'm now free."

:: Sophie Hayes is not her real name. There are only a handful of people who know both her real name and her story and she says it's important that she remains anonymous.

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Mitch Winehouse Warns Parents Over Legal Highs

The father of Amy Winehouse has issued a warning over legal highs saying so many new drugs are available to children it was "no wonder parents are in the dark".

Mitch Winehouse also said that the under-funding of drug and alcohol education meant that a generation of children were being put at risk.

He was speaking as he prepares to launch a new education programme for schools with the help of the comedian Russell Brand.

His singer daughter died in July 2011 from accidental alcohol poisoning at the age of 27 after a long and well-documented battle with drink and drugs.

Mitch Winehouse with his daughter Amy in 2009

Mr Winehouse said: "Everyone wants their kids to make informed choices when it comes to drugs and alcohol.

"But it's such a complicated subject to understand, especially when you look at all the new legal highs that have appeared over the past few years, that it's no wonder that parents feel in the dark about what to do."

The United Nations' drug watchdog warned this month that a new legal high enters the market every week, with the number of websites now selling these so-called designer drugs now at 600.

Britain is at the heart of the trade in these drugs, with an increasing number of deaths, mainly among teenagers, linked to their use.

Winehouse with husband Blake Fielder-Civil who introduced her to heroin

Earlier this month a 15-year-old from Essex was admitted to hospital after smoking a legal high packaged as plant fertiliser.

Mr Winehouse added: "Drugs education in schools is woefully under-funded and has been far too inconsistent.

"That's if it happens at all. When it does, it doesn't look at why people turn to drugs or drink.

"It doesn't happen with any kind of regularity. And it doesn't help teachers and parents to support the kids who really need it. That really needs to change."

The Amy Winehouse Foundation Resilience Programme will initially be rolled out to 50 secondary schools across England and will provide a free, confidential phone and online service for young people, supported by ChildLine.

Comedian Russell Brand has battled his own drug problems

Brand, who has battled drug problems in the past, is due to attend the launch of the schools programme at Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, in central London, on Tuesday.

The charity Addaction, which helped to develop the scheme, said it had seen an almost 25% rise in the number of young people seeking help for drug and alcohol problems in the last five years.

Simon Antrobus, chief executive of Addaction, said: "Every day at Addaction, we see people who've turned to drugs or drink to help deal with a personal problem. That's why this new programme is so important. It doesn't just say no - it also looks at why."

The Amy Winehouse Foundation has highlighted a poll by ComRes of more than 4,000 adults which found four in five parents with children at school felt drug and alcohol abuse among young people was a serious problem in the UK.

Only a third believed schools provided adequate education to children and young people around drugs and alcohol.

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'Spider-Man' Alain Robert Eyes Up Shard Climb

The so-called French "Spider-Man" is well-known for climbing some of the world's tallest and most iconic landmarks.

And now he has set his sights on London's Shard - the highest building in the European Union, which opened earlier this year.

Mr Robert has been arrested several times

Alain Robert told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan that he was trying to get permission to scale the 1,016ft tower and was hoping to "meet the guy in two days".

It comes after the Shard's owners were granted a High Court injunction last December stopping him going up amid health and safety fears.

Mr Robert, who has previously scaled landmarks including the Eiffel Tower and New York's Empire State Building, visited the Shard that month to assess its potential for a future ascent.

He was recognised by security personnel, and reportedly told them he would not be climbing the building at that time.

London Bridge Quarter (LBQ), the Shard's owners and developers, said: "The injunction prohibits Mr Robert from entering the Shard site or attempting to climb the building.

"Mr Robert has been witnessed in the vicinity of the Shard and as LBQ Ltd takes its responsibility to health and safety extremely seriously we have sought to prevent Mr Robert from attempting to climb The Shard - in the interest of his own safety and that of the general public."

He has been arrested several times in the past after going up buildings without prior approval but he said these days nearly 70% of his attempts are "completely official".

Mr Robert said: "Sometimes people think I'm a criminal and that it's impossible to do something official with me but it's totally wrong."

He admitted he still suffered from vertigo, adding: "There's nearly nothing you can do except live with it and handle it as much as you can."

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'Mummy Tax': Benefit Changes Criticised

By Tadhg Enright, Business Correspondent

The new Archbishop of Canterbury has chosen Mother's Day to fire a warning to the Government over planned cuts to welfare.

In his first significant intervention since being appointed, the Most Rev Justin Welby is among 43 bishops who have written an open letter condemning changes to the benefit system.

He warned that "children and families will pay the price" if the plans go ahead in their current form.

The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill will cap benefit rises at 1% a year until 2016.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who is attempting to steer the reforms through Parliament, has said they are needed to help get spending "back under control" and create a fairer deal for taxpayers.

But the archbishop, who will be formally enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on March 21, said the legislation would remove the protection given to families against the rising cost of living and could push 200,000 children into poverty.

His predecessor, Dr Rowan Williams, was strongly criticised for expressing his views about Government policy.

The Most Rev Justin Welby has criticised the planned reforms

Faith and communities minister Baroness Warsi told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan: "The Government takes seriously the concerns the church raises.

"But we are in very difficult circumstances and we have to make some tough decisions. And at a time when people's incomes are frozen and not going up in line with inflation, it is also right that we look at the possibility of freezing benefits."

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister had a Mother's Day card delivered to his door by campaigners for new mums whose benefits are about to be capped.

Labour has accused the Government of imposing a "mummy tax" and said the welfare reforms are part of a series of austerity measures which unfairly target mothers.

Shadow minister for women Yvette Cooper MP told Sky News: "It's like David Cameron and George Osborne have a blindspot about women because they're paying three times more than men in tax and benefit and pay and pension changes.

"That is so unfair when women earn less and own less than men.

"It shows that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor just don't get it and it's outrageous that new mums are hurt hardest."

Around 340,000 women claim either statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance every year.

Until now their benefits have gone up in line with inflation, which currently stands at 2.7%, according to the Consumer Price Index.

Yvette Cooper has slammed the benefit cap

But from next month new mothers' benefits will go up by just 1% every year as part of a three-year cap on welfare increases.

So by 2015 critics have calculated the benefits will be effectively cut by £180 because they will not increase by as much as the cost of living will.

Schools minister, Liberal Democrat David Laws MP, defended the planned welfare reforms and said the Coalition had tried to help those on lower incomes.

He told Murnaghan: "We've had a public sector pay freeze. We've also had a 1% cap in the future on public sector pay. So we've have had to take difficult decisions not just for some of those on lower incomes but for everybody in society.

"And actually we've tried to help some of those on lower incomes by raising the tax free personal allowance and also exempting some of the lowest paid public sector workers from the effects of the pay freeze."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "In difficult economic times we've protected the incomes of pensioners and disabled people, and most working age benefits will continue to increase 1%.

"This was a tough decision but it's one that will help keep the welfare bill sustainable in the longer term. By raising the personal allowance threshold, we've lifted two million people out of tax altogether, clearly benefiting people on a low income."

Single mum-to-be Helen Mockridge has one clear suggestion for a better way to reduce the deficit.

"Taxing really rich people, obviously, that's where the money should come from," she said.

"For me it's a real no-brainer and it makes me really angry that certain parts of society are very, very wealthy and the gap between rich and poor is getting bigger.

"That's where the money should be coming from, not from single mothers or the disabled or any other vulnerable group."

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1D: One Direction Pull Fans' Tattoo Request

One Direction have been forced to delete a social media request for fans to submit footage of their "real tattoos" to have a chance of appearing in the boyband's forthcoming film.

The band wiped the request from Facebook and Twitter after sparking a fury of criticism, as many fans of One Direction - who refer to the group as 1D - are under the age of 18.

Spokesman Simon Jones said: "This tweet was posted in error and has now been removed. One Direction do not want to encourage any of their fans to get 1D tattoos."

On Saturday the band put out the call for imagery of fans' tattoos on its official Twitter feed, which has more than 10 million followers, and to its 13 million Facebook friends.

The band had encouraged fans to send videos of their tattoos to an email address, giving them the chance for the footage to appear in a 3D movie due out in the summer.

The band tweeted: "Have a real #1D tattoo? Show us! Submit a 90 sec YouTube video to 1d3dfan@gmail.com and show us why you should be in the @1D3Dmovie!"

The appeal on social media was quickly retweeted by more than 4,000 followers and set as a favourite by nearly 6,000 people.

But fan reaction was swift and by late Sunday morning both sites had been wiped of the request, and Mr Jones was forced to release the explanatory statement.

Singer Harry Styles is known to have multiple tattoos himself

Facebook friend Julia Zwagerman said of the request: "Okay One Direction, I love you guys to pieces I really do, but promoting young girls to get a tattoo?"

Twitter follower plumlilo said: "Why would you encourage people to get tattoos that they'll regret in 10 years"

Follower JB1DJanoskians added: "A real tattoo of 1D, im so sorry but that is a load of b*******, people who do that is sick."

Although the social media request was removed fans can still upload photos of themselves to the band's website, as the group intends to use "a mosaic made of thousands of little things - you" for its movie poster.

No upload restrictions are in place for imagery, except that participants must be over the age of 14.

Some members of the five-piece band, which was formed for talent show The X Factor, have increasingly taken to having so-called hipster tattoos adorning their bodies.

Harry Styles and Zayn Malik have become famous for their collections of offbeat inked art.

One American website has even devoted a section to "The ugliest tattoos of One Direction".

However, not everyone was critical of the decision of the band to tweet the tattoo request message on Saturday.

A young fan from Colorado, 1DGottaBeYouu, tweeted: "Why the hell would most of directions have tattoos? We aren't even old enough. BUT when I turn 18= 1D Tattoo :)"

Twitter user The1DScoop, operated by five female followers of the band, said: "Finally you realise we aren't all 12."

The band are currently in Belfast and due to perform two sold out shows on Sunday and Monday nights.

Tickets for the show, which cost up to £35.50 each, come with the recommendation that children under the age of 14 should be accompanied by an adult.

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Weather: Snow Returns To Delay Spring Again

Ice warnings are in place for much of the country following several inches of snowfall in some places.

Temperatures nose-dived below freezing and are expected to plunge to between -2C to -9C, further delaying springtime weather for Britain.

Scotland, northern England and East Anglia felt the brunt of the sleet and snow showers, with reports of up to 6cm settling in Norfolk and Suffolk, and 10cm on higher ground.

And forecasters have warned more snow is on its way with heavy showers overnight into Monday.

Kadie Lane, four, in Carrshield in Northumberland

A band of snow is expected to hit south Devon around midnight, moving eastwards across other coastal counties through to Kent.

There will be further snow showers in the North and North East, but these will ease off as the day goes on.

Sky News meteorologist Chris England said: "We've had some snow through central Britain, which is petering out now, but wintry showers will push in from the North East, mainly affecting eastern Britain and the Central Lowlands.

A blizzard near Heaxham in Northumberland.

"Rain in the South West will bring snow to the moors and perhaps to low levels later.

"There's a small chance of more widespread snow for southern counties tomorrow.

"Most places won't see significant falls, but a few places will see shower after shower, with some notable accumulations likely.

"It will stay cold for the next few days, with a significant wind chill and sharp overnight frosts," he added.

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Clegg Urges Lib Dems To Maintain Unity

Nick Clegg has told Liberal Democrats that his party has not lost its identity by governing with Conservatives in a coalition.

The Deputy Prime Minister hailed the by-election victory in Eastleigh as proof that the Lib Dems can profit from being in Government.

He also dismissed the "myth" that forming the coalition has undermined their identity or ability to fight the Conservatives.

The rallying cry was made in his keynote speech to the Lib Dem spring conference in Brighton.

The leadership has been eager to use the gathering to move on from damaging allegations of sexual harassment by Lord Rennard - which he denies - and the conviction of former Cabinet minister Chris Huhne.

In his speech, Mr Clegg sought to rally his troops by rounding on critics who wrote the party's "political obituaries" before last month's by-election campaign.

"The odds were stacked against us. A fierce campaign, under a national spotlight, dogged by difficult headlines from day one. Extraordinary circumstances. Yet we still won," he said.

Mr Clegg, whose party holds the minority position in the Government, likened the Conservative Party to a shopping trolley with "wonky" wheels.

He said: "Every time you want to push it ahead it veers off to the right-hand side."

He added that Labour "was embracing opposition in the worst possible way" and had hijacked the Lib Dems idea for a mansion tax.

Mr Clegg at the Eastleigh by-election with Mike Thornton

Mr Clegg added: "We didn't win in Eastleigh in spite of being in power. We won in Eastleigh because we're in power - locally and nationally."

He conceded that some Lib Dems had harboured "quiet fears" that coalition would do irreparable damage to the party.

But he insisted that the risk can pay off at local elections in May and the next general election in 2015.

"There is a myth that governing together, in coalition, diminishes the ability of the smaller party to beat the bigger party.

"The idea that, in Tory facing seats the Liberal Democrats will find it impossible to distinguish our record, our values, from theirs," Mr Clegg said.

"But that myth has been utterly confounded. The opposite is true. The longer you stand side-by-side with your opponents the easier your differences are to see. We don't lose our identity by governing with the Conservatives.

"The comparison helps the British people understand who we are."

Some Lib Dems and Conservatives have struggled accepting a coalition rule

Mr Clegg said that previous governments allowed the City of London to benefit at the expense of private enterprise elsewhere in the UK.

He said chances had been "squandered".

Earlier on Sunday Lib Dem schools minister David Laws told Sky's Dermot Murnghan the party was in "very good form" at the conference after the Eastleigh success.

He said: "The party is in a very confident mood down here in Brighton after a fantastic by-election victory in Eastleigh in very difficult circumstances against the odds.

"I think that has given people in our party real confidence that we can be in Government at a very difficult time, taking some tough decisions but also delivering some of the policies in our manifesto.

"And we can also win confidence from people in places like Eastleigh where we have been serving the local population at a local and national level for many years so the party is in very good form here."

However, Saturday's conference session was tarnished by bad-tempered clashes between Mr Clegg and activists over so-called secret courts legislation and benefits changes.

The Justice and Security Bill was comfortably given its third reading in the Commons last week, despite a rebellion from some Tories and Lib Dem MPs and continuing opposition from civil rights campaigners.

The party leader had said the intelligence services were currently unable to defend themselves in some civil court cases because they could not disclose sensitive material.

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