Arrest In Suspected Belfast Double-Murder

Police investigating the suspected double-murder of a middle aged man and woman in Belfast have arrested a man.

The 33-year-old was taken into custody just hours after police revealed details of the deaths in the Ravenhill area in the south east of the city - believed to be a domestic homicide. 

Police said the perpetrator responsible for the deaths may have been in a relationship with one of the victims but don't consider they are a threat to the wider public.

Police said they did not want the identities of the middle-aged victims to become public at this stage as not all of their next of kin had been informed of what had happened.

The incident in the Ravenhill area is thought to be domestic-related

Officers found their bodies in the living room of the flat in the Ravenhill Court area yesterday afternoon.

They had been alerted by a member of the public who noticed the front door of the property had been badly damaged.

Detective Chief Inspector Una Jennings, senior investigating officer with the PSNI, said: "We are treating this at the moment as a suspected domestic homicide."

She appealed to whoever was responsible to come forward.

The detective added: "I would describe it as a domestic incident, we believe that the perpetrator of this crime may well have been in a relationship with one or other of the victims."

She said the exact causes of death would not be confirmed until post-mortem examinations were carried out in the coming days.

Asked if the perpetrator posed a danger to the wider public, Ms Jennings said: "We don't consider they pose a risk to the public at this time."

Detectives have appealed for anyone who noticed anything suspicious in the Ravenhill Court area between 3pm on Wednesday and 3pm yesterday to contact them.

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Fire Death At Flat During Firefighter Strike

A man has died in a blaze in a north London flat while firefighters were striking over pensions.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has been forced to release a statement denying the strike had any bearing on the man's death.

Fire crews were called to the flat fire on Oakfield Road in Hornsey at about 9.52pm on Saturday.

"The fire damaged part of the ground floor flat and sadly the body of a man was found at the scene," an LFB statement read.

The incident occurred while industrial action, organised by the Fire Brigade Union, was under way.

The union's London branch wrote on Twitter before the incident: "Firefighters preparing for their sixth strike in dispute over pensions, to take place tonight between 6.00pm and 10.00pm."

It later wrote: "Information coming in which suggests the London Fire Brigade's contingency plans failed disastrously tonight."

Firefighters finished at the scene at 11.14pm. Two fire engines and 14 firefighters and officers from Hornsey fire station attended the incident.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said on Sunday: "Based on early investigations into this death, it is not believed that the strike made any difference to the outcome.

"It does not appear that neither the contingency fire crews, nor LFB's own crews had they not been on strike, would have reached him in time and have successfully rescued him."

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Iran Claims 'MI6 Spy' On Trial After Capture

Iran says it has arrested a "spy" accused of working for the British secret intelligence service.

A court official said the man had confessed to his alleged crimes and was on trial.

He was detained in the town of Kerman in southeast Iran after authorities spent months tracking him down, the semi-official ISNA news agency said.

The suspect is accused of meeting four British intelligence operatives and giving them information.

Dadkhoda Salari, head of the Kerman revolutionary court, said: "Through the efforts of Iranian security forces, an MI6 spy has been arrested.

"He has met British intelligence officers in person 11 times, both inside the country and abroad, and provided them with intelligence."

It has not been suggested the alleged spy is a Briton, and Tehran has a history of announcing the arrest of people it claims are spying without releasing more details.

But the news is potentially embarrassing at a time when diplomatic relations between the UK and Iran had been improving after a two-year freeze.

On Friday, Iran's new envoy to Britain, Hassan Habibollah-Zadeh, held talks in London on his first visit since his appointment in November.

And a British diplomat, non-resident charge d'affaires Ajay Sharma, said he had "detailed and constructive discussions" about the UK's relationship with Iran during talks earlier this month.

He visited the site of the UK's embassy in the Iranian capital to assess the damage caused when it was ransacked by a mob in 2011, an incident which prompted the Government to pull its staff out of the country.

The thaw in relations between Tehran and the international community has also seen a deal reached over its nuclear programme.

Responding to the reported arrest a Foreign Office spokesman said: "We don't comment on intelligence matters."

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UK Plans Cap On EU Immigrants - Leaked Report

The number of people allowed to move to the UK from European Union countries could be capped at 75,000 under proposals set out by the Home Office, it has been claimed.

A leaked Government report on the effect on Britain of the EU's policy allowing free movement of people suggests a cap could cut net migration from EU countries by 30,000 from the current 106,000 a year.

The document, seen by The Sunday Times, also suggests blocking EU immigrants from claiming benefits or tax credits for their first five years in the UK.

The proposals would mean professionals and highly-skilled migrants from countries such as Germany, Holland or Austria could only move to the UK if they had a job offer.

Lower-skilled workers would be allowed to settle if they had jobs on an approved list of occupations for which there was a national shortage.

The leaked open borders review was overseen by Home Secretary Theresa May as part of the Government's assessment of the balance of powers between the UK and Brussels.

Other proposals in the paper include giving British citizens a "national preference" by explicitly reserving jobs for them and limiting labour movement from poorer countries joining the EU to the UK until their GDP is 75% of Britain's.

Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday said tougher controls on freedom of movement within the EU will be needed in the future and suggested a GDP-based restriction.

The report was overseen by Home Secretary Theresa May

He said: "When other countries join the European Union we should be insisting on longer transitions and perhaps even saying until you reach a proper share of an average European Union GDP you can't have freedom of movement.

"The reason for that is if you look at migration between Britain and Germany or France and Germany, countries of pretty even GDP, the movements are pretty much balanced.

"Its only when you have a real imbalance when you have a poor country and a much wealthier country that you get these vast movements."

But any attempt to challenge free movement rules is likely to face resistance in Europe.

European Commissioner Laszlo Andor recently hit out at British politicians' comments about the lifting of restrictions on Bulgaria and Romania at the end of this month, saying on Twitter: "Responsible politicians should avoid legitimising xenophobic reactions that indeed weaken the European spirit."

He also served notice that the UK could be taken to court over existing proposals to tighten the rules on migrants claiming benefits.

Asked about the report, a Home Office spokesman said: "We do not comment on leaked documents."

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British 'Space City' Stevenage 'Not A Luxury'

By Rhiannon Mills, Sky News Reporter

Britain's space industry isn't just 'some luxury' and deserves better backing and support, according to Science Minister David Willetts.

Mr Willetts said more public money and recognition is needed to give the already hugely successful space sector the boost it deserves.

He told Sky News: "Space is not some luxury. Space is creating the technologies that will make everyday life in Britain better and will mean that Britain can pay its way in the world by exporting high quality services.

"We've already got an industry that is worth £9bn a year, it employs 30,000 people but it's got fantastic opportunities for growth."

An unassuming Stevenage office is at the heart of Britain's space programme

An £80m space cooperation fund was announced in the Autumn Statement, and speaking to journalists last week Mr Willetts even compared Stevenage in Hertfordshire to Nasa's base at Cape Canaveral in Florida, saying in the future Britain will be at the heart of the global space effort.

The town of Stevenage, which plays host to a number of space-related companies including Astrium, the third largest space company in the world, has been nicknamed "Space City".

They make a quarter of the world's satellites, from telecommunications satellites to others monitoring weather patterns and gravitational waves.

As part of the European Space Programme, they're developing a Mars Rover which should be exploring the surface of the Red Planet by 2019.

UK scientists will send the Gaia camera into space to map a billion stars

And their latest starring role is helping create Gaia, the largest ever camera to be sent into space, designed to map a billion stars, due for launch this week.

Dr Ralph Cordey, Astrium's head of science, told Sky News: "Some of the things that we're actually doing today might be considered to be science fiction.

"Whether the future will be about colonies on the moon or colonies on Mars I can't say right now, but I know the future will be exciting and what we're doing right now is forming a part of that."

The Government hopes added investment will help forge potentially lucrative partnerships with the likes of India, China and even America, as the international space race continues.

Scientists at work at Astrium's Stevenage HQ

At the National Space Centre in Leicester they welcome the extra financial backing, believing it will provide a great opportunity to showcase what the British space industry has to offer.

Its director of education Anu Ojha said: "In so many areas we are world leaders - in robotics, telecommunications, but in typical British style we don't make a song and dance about it.

"Within the global sector it is well known about our expertise, but among the general public, people are saying, 'UK space programme, what space programme?' and we as a community are on a mission to change that perception."

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Lynne Spalding: Lawyer Denies Alcohol Claim

A lawyer for a British woman found dead in a locked stairwell at San Francisco General Hospital is disputing a coroner's report that her death was probably related to "chronic alcohol abuse".

Lynne Spalding, 57, disappeared from her hospital room on September 21 but her body was not found until 17 days later on October 8.

Assistant medical examiner Ellen Moffat said in a new report that the mother-of-two had been dead for days before the discovery and probably died of "a chemical imbalance due to complications from chronic alcohol abuse".

Ms Spalding was confused and delirious on the day she disappeared and she did not know the day or time or even why she was in the hospital, Ms Moffat added.

But attorney Haig Harris insisted Ms Spalding's death was not related to alcoholism and that she had died of starvation or dehydration.

He told the San Francisco Chronicle that the mention of alcoholism "demeans the memory of this woman, without telling us when she died, how long she was out there suffering".

A spokesman for Ms Spalding's family, David Perry, has also denied she had a drinking problem.

Ms Spalding, originally from Peterlee, Co Durham, had been admitted for a bladder or urinary tract infection and arrived at the hospital thin and frail with her children worried about her condition.

Ms Spalding was found dead in a stairwell at San Francisco General Hospital

Although sheriff's deputies at the hospital did a "perimeter search" of the hospital's 24-acre campus within an hour of her disappearance, it was not until September 30 that they attempted a more extensive search of the grounds.

The next day, after it became clear that not all the stairwells used as fire exits had been searched, a supervisor ordered the stairwell searches to continue, yet "only about half the stairwells" ever were, Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi said.

Ms Spalding's friends and relatives spent days scouring the streets of the Californian city with flyers because they were "under the assumption that San Francisco General had been searched and Lynne was not here".

On October, 4 a hospital staff member told the sheriff's department that someone had reported seeing a body in a locked stairwell of the building where Ms Spalding had been a patient.

A sheriff's dispatcher told hospital officials the department would respond, but there was "no indication that any one was dispatched to that stairwell".

Ms Spalding had lived in the city for more than 20 years and had two grown-up children, a 19-year-old son and 23-year-old daughter, who both live in the US.

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Belfast Bag Bomb: Hunt For Man In Hooded Top

Police believe the man suspected of leaving a bomb outside a busy restaurant in Belfast was caught on CCTV.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland say the suspect was wearing a black hooded top and they released an image of a black Slazenger bag in which the bomb was contained.

The photo was taken moments before the device exploded.

Vigilant passers-by who spotted the dissident republican device minutes before it detonated have been praised by police.

The PSNI said those who alerted them to the device in the packed Cathedral Quarter district on Friday evening averted a tragedy.

Officers acting on misleading information provided in a telephone bomb warning to a Belfast newspaper had been evacuating people from a hotel 150 metres away.

Police search with dogs for evidence after Friday night's bombing

Once informed about the holdall by members of the public, they were able to refocus the security operation on the area immediately around it.

The bomb warning was telephoned to the Irish News at 6pm. It was not until 6.20pm before a member of the public noticed the bag and raised the alarm.

Officers then had until 6.44pm to evacuate 1,000 people from the area before the bomb exploded.

In the event, no one was hurt. Police have described the explosion as "small" but potentially deadly.

Dissident group Oglaigh na hEireann has claimed responsibility. The group, whose name means Soldiers of Ireland, is a splinter group of the Real IRA, who opposed the Good Friday Agreement.

Detective Chief Inspector Justyn Galloway, the PSNI officer leading the investigation into the blast, appealed to anyone who may have seen the suspect carrying the holdall in and around the Cathedral Quarter area.

"Did they see a male wearing a black hoody carrying a black Slazenger bag in and around 6pm last night?" he said.

"If they saw this person or anyone acting suspiciously I would ask them to come forward and speak to detectives."

Security measures are being ramped up across the centre of Belfast

The lead detective also commended the actions of the public, police and staff in the moments before the bomb went off.

He said: "This device fully functioned. The device contained flammable liquid and explosives and it has some similarities to devices that have been used before by dissident republicans.

"Members of the public were vigilant and they did come forward and speak to police and it clearly averted injuries last night," he said.

He added that analysis of security camera footage from the area would be key.

Security measures are being ramped up in Belfast city centre following the explosion.

Police have been stopping cars and checking car boots at the entrance of Castle Court Shopping Centre in the city since last month.

Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny joined police, political and church representatives and traders in condemning the latest attack.

"I condemn this atrocity as a mindless attack on the sanctity of human life, carried out by people whose depraved agenda cannot, and will not, be allowed to gain a foothold in Northern Ireland," he said.

Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have described the bomb attack as "despicable".

In a joint statement, both ministers appealed with anyone with information to contact police.

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Jayden Parkinson: Mother's 'Empty Heart'

Missing Jayden Parkinson's mother has said her "heart is so heavy" for her daughter, who is believed to have been murdered.

In a post on Facebook, Samantha Shrewsbury called Jayden her "baby" and her "princess".

She wrote: "My heart is so heavy baby girl I just want to see you walk through my door with a "Tad Dar" I need you little lady my heart feels so empty without you u know ur My Tinymigriney xxxxxxx."

Jayden's mum's Facebook post

Police looking for the 17-year-old from Oxford have asked the public not to carry out their own searches.

Jayden has been missing for nearly two weeks and is thought to have been killed.

She was last seen leaving Didcot Parkway train station at 4.27pm on December 3 - and did not return home that evening as planned.

The teenager was last seen on December 3

Commander Supt Christian Bunt from Thames Valley Police said it was a "critical time" in their investigation and they are searching a number of sites in Didcot, Oxfordshire, and the surrounding areas.

He added: "We appreciate the public's co-operation and understanding while this takes place.

"Due to the nature of the police searches taking place, we would request the public refrain from organising their own search activity at this stage to avoid the risk of jeopardising the investigation."

A Sky News graphic of the man and suitcase based on police descriptions

Police believe a young man seen struggling with a large suitcase in the area could hold the key to the inquiry.

Officers are trying to find him after he was spotted with the bag in a field in the village of Upton, about three miles south of Didcot, early on December 9.

Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Murray said: "That suitcase was large, it was heavy, it was difficult to manage and that man was having difficulty removing that suitcase from that area."

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder

Mr Murray said the same man with the suitcase was seen in nearby Didcot about half an hour later.

The man has been described as about 20, white, about 5ft 6in, of medium to slim build, with short dark hair.

The suitcase was about 3ft by 2ft, about 15in deep and light coloured, probably made of canvas material, and had an extendable handle and wheels.

Sky News Correspondent Lisa Dowd, who is in Oxfordshire, said: "The focus of the police search continues to be a patch of farmland next to the village of Upton just a few miles from where Jayden was last seen leaving Didcot railway station.

Upton is about three miles south of Didcot

"Search specialists and forensics officers have created a base next to Saint Mary's church in the village and have been walking along a footpath to a tree-lined copse, which locals say also contains some derelict farm buildings."

Dowd added: "The police helicopter has been hovering above this area, which is next to a disused railway line."

Mr Murray said police were also searching addresses that Jayden "may be associated with". Detectives also uncovered a recycling bin in Didcot to try to find evidence, he said.

He added that officers were certain the man spotted in Upton with the suitcase was the same man seen shortly after in Didcot, but could not say why.

Jayden is white, of slim build with shoulder-length dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing light blue faded jeans, a brown hooded top with red lettering on it, a black waist-length jacket, and dark trainers when she was last seen.

It is believed that on December 3 she walked up Oxford high street through the town centre, arriving at the city's train station at 4.07pm, where she boarded a train to Didcot. She went missing after leaving that station.

Two men aged 17 and 22 remain in police custody on suspicion of murder in connection with her disappearance.

:: Anyone with information has been urged to contact Thames Valley Police on 101 and quote URN 542 10/12, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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NHS Chief Calls For Quality Seven-Day Service

Hospitals in England could face multi-million pound fines if they fail to maintain standards seven days a week, the NHS's medical director has warned.

Sir Bruce Keogh is set to announce his recommendations after a year-long inquiry into NHS care, amid concerns over higher death rates for patients treated on Saturdays or Sundays.

He told the Sunday Times a seven-day NHS "would undo more than 50 years of accumulated custom and practice which have failed to put the interests of patients first".

The obligation to run a full service 24/7 will be written in to hospital trusts' contractual agreements, with breaches leading to potential fines of up to 2.5% on budgets that can be more than £500m.

Sir Bruce will also publish clinical standards, which set out the level of care that patients can expect in any NHS hospital at the weekend.

He added: "Two things are key to this. One is the availability of diagnostic tests at the weekend, because the key to treating somebody is a diagnosis.

"Then you need someone experienced to interpret those tests and to institute the right treatment." 

Sir Bruce plans to end the practice of junior doctors staffing hospitals at weekends without consultants present and hospitals that fail to adapt will face losing the right to use junior doctors altogether.

He said: "Historically at the weekend our service has been delivered largely by junior doctors in training and now we are changing that."

The practice of junior doctors staffing hospitals at weekends could end

The intention is that within three years all patients admitted as an emergency at the weekend will be seen by a consultant within 14 hours.

Those already in hospital at the weekend will have their condition reviewed by a consultant every 24 hours, while routine surgery will be available at weekends for minor conditions such as hernias.

X-ray, ultrasound, CT and MRI scans will carry on at the same level as during the week, while heart checks, biopsies and blood tests will also be available seven days a week.

The hospital support network of pharmacies, physiotherapy and occupational therapy will run every day.

Sir Bruce said the NHS lacked compassion by failing patients at the weekend. "People are still kept waiting at the weekend for a diagnosis. We have a system that is not built around the convenience of patients and is not compassionate to patients for part of the week.

"Why should somebody have to take time off work, why should someone else have to take time off work to take them to and from hospital, when, if they were to have their operations on a Saturday, they could spend Sunday recovering and, in many cases, get back to work sooner?"

The inquiry team believe the change will cost about 2% of the NHS's annual operating bill of £97bn, but could be less after potential savings.

Blood tests, heart checks and biopsies would be available seven days a week

Critics suggest the cost could be billions more, but Sir Bruce believes the system of having theatres, consulting rooms and recovery wards lying empty at the weekend could be tackled to cut costs.

The BMA said it supports high quality seven-day patient care.

A spokeswoman said: "Doctors firmly believe that patient outcomes should not be affected by what day of the week they fall ill.

"The BMA is in discussions with the Government on how to develop working patterns which deliver more services across seven days while safeguarding the need for a healthy and productive work-life balance for doctors.

"This is a complicated problem, which will not be easily resolved by one single 'quick fix' solution."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "Patients should be at the heart of the NHS and be able to depend on it every day - not just Monday to Friday.

"I want the NHS to expand to provide seven-day services so that more patients get the right care, when they need it. It is great news that Sir Bruce Keogh will be setting out his plans for the NHS to provide seven day services."

Labour shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: "This idea is right in principle but, with the NHS in increasing financial distress, the Government must set out clearly how it will be paid for."

:: Watch NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh live on Sky News at 11am on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Winter Wonderland Cancelled After Complaints

A Winter Wonderland event in Milton Keynes has been cancelled after attracting a raft of complaints from parents.

Organisers shut down the event in Campbell Park, which included paid-for events such as ice skating, just a day after it opened on Saturday.

The closure came after parents bombarded a Facebook page with complaints about the quality of the Wonderland.

Perry Smith, who attended the event with his children, described it as a "waste of money and time".

He said: "Santas grotto wasn't even like a grotto. It had around 20 trees which were not decorated, the grotto was falling apart and could have caused some injuries.

"I was told by a friend that they had turned up to see Santa at 11 o'clock but he did not turn up until 3 o'clock. Big sign on the door stating 'closed to technical difficulties'."

Another parent Amy Burge said she had never been so "disgusted in all my life" and she left with three "very upset children" shortly after.

She wrote: "There were 2 husky dogs one of which was in a small cage and barking, 2 reindeers which again were in a small pen and could hardly move."

One mother writing on a blog for the Natal Company said her family had paid £42 to pre-book tickets to find "men dressed in Santa outfits from Poundland".

"This was definitely no Wonderland. It felt like an opportunity to rip off parents who had hoped to have a magical day out with their children," she wrote.

Organisers posted a message on the Winter Wonderland MK website, stating: "We regret that this event has been cancelled."

They also promised that anyone who pre-ordered tickets would be issued with full refunds.

The event's charity partner the Papworth Trust said it was "concerned" to hear about the complaints and had withdrawn from the event.

In a statement, the disability charity said: "We are sorry to hear about people's experiences of the day. After consulting with our volunteers and listening to the public's feedback, we have sadly decided to withdraw our volunteers and our association with the event."

A spokesman from The Parks Trust, which looks after Campbell Park, said: "Winter Wonderland MK have told us that they will be contacting all the customers on their database to arrange refunds and that people should get in touch with them via their website www.wwmk.co.uk or by email at info@wwmk.co.uk."

He added: "Before The Parks Trust hires out any sites out to third parties we do ensure that organisers have robust health and safety policies, are fully insured and have a detailed event management plan in place. We also liaise with the local authority and the police through the Safety Advisory Group."

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