Feminism Row: Harman Gets Shirty With Cameron

Harriet Harman has found a novel way of criticising David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions - by donning a pro-feminist top he had refused to wear.

In the Commons, the deputy Labour leader was seen wearing a T-shirt with the slogan: "This is what a feminist looks like."

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Mr Cameron had rebuffed five offers to be photographed in the shirt, which is part of a campaign by Elle magazine and the Fawcett Society.

This was despite the fact that Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg had agreed to support the initiative.

Lorraine Candy, Elle's editor-in-chief, claimed his refusal implied he "still has an issue with the word".

Both Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg agreed to participate in the new campaign

Despite his vocal messages of support, the journalist insisted it "doesn't bode well" for the fight for equality "when the man in charge doesn't engage" with such a campaign.

After Ms Harman tweeted a photograph of herself in the T-shirt, she received a scathing response from the Tory press office.

They wrote: "And what does getting your husband through an all-women shortlist look like?"

Their retort was in reference to her husband, Jack Dromey, who was elected as a Birmingham MP after Labour ruled out an all-women shortlist.

The Labour party has insisted on the measure in other areas.

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Miliband's Approval Ratings Hit All-Time Low

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

Ed Miliband's approval ratings are at their lowest ever level, according to a YouGov poll.

The Labour leader is now less popular than Nick Clegg, with a net approval of minus 55.

The Liberal Democrat leader has a net rating of minus 54, and David Cameron's is minus 14.

Despite the poll's findings, the shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News she believes Mr Miliband is doing a "good job" and has brought the party together with his policies around the cost of living crisis.

When it comes to poll ratings, Mr Miliband consistently underperforms compared to his party, while Mr Cameron does the opposite.

One polling expert said: "People vote Labour in spite of Miliband, whereas people like Cameron in spite of the Conservatives."

A YouGov poll puts Mr Miliband's approval ratings at their lowest

However, Labour has more reason to be concerned about Mr Miliband's poor ratings now than at any time before.

MPs and activists have – to some extent – accepted their leader's poll ratings because they believe the numbers stack up when it comes to the next election.

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1. Gallery: The Gaffes of Ed Miliband

   2011: Sky News films Ed Miliband travelling in first class, even though his staff have removed the seat covers so as to not arouse suspicion.

2. 2011: Ed forgets the name of the three Scottish Labour candidates (L-R Tom Harris, Johann Lamont and Ken Macintosh.

3. 2012: In a tweet paying tribute to the late Bob Holness, Ed Miliband misspells blockbusters as 'blackbusters'.

4. 2013: Ed pays tribute on Twitter to retiring Man Utd manager Sir Alex Ferguson, some users interpret this as an obituary.

5. 2014: Ed does not know how much he spends on his weekly shop and does not know the average spend for a family.

6. 2014: Whilst talking to a local radio journalist in Swindon, Miliband cannot name a Swindon councillor.

7. 2014: Miliband is derided when stills and video of him eating a bacon sandwich emerge.

By getting out their core vote, and picking up votes from disgruntled Lib Dems, they believe Labour has a good chance of being in power next year.

However, some of those traditional supporters may not be as reliable as Labour hope.

A recent poll by Ipsos Mori/STV found the SNP were on 52%, with Labour on 23%. That would suggest the SNP gaining 54 seats at the next general election – up from the six they hold now.

It would be disastrous for Labour – they would lose 36 seats, keeping hold of just four.

That poll still sounds like a worst case scenario, and most experts still think Labour will do significantly better in Scotland in 2015.

However, as alarm bells go, it's massive.

The SNP's damage to Labour could equal or exceed UKIP's effect on the Tories.

Nigel Farage's party may get more media attention, but the SNP could be more significant in May next year.

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British Backpacker Dies In Australia Island Crash

A British backbacker has died in a road accident while travelling in Australia.

Jade Fox, 22, from Maidstone, was a passenger in a four-wheel drive vehicle that rolled over on Fraser Island, Queensland.

An air ambulance was sent to the scene after the crash on Friday but it is understood that it was too late to save Ms Fox.

David Anderson, a Fraser Island first responder, told The Courier Mail website he attempted to resuscitate her but it was apparent she had died.

He said: "Two companions of the girl who died were visibly upset.

The scene in Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia

"They had six months to go on their Australian trip and they were saying they wanted to go home. They were just too upset to go on anymore."

Earlier, Ms Fox had written on her Facebook page that she was excited about the trip. She wrote on Tuesday: "Up early doors to travel Fraser island for three days."

The vehicle that rolled is understood to have been one of a convoy of three four-wheel drives on a tour operated by the Rainbow Beach Adventure Company.

The Courier Mail said police believe the driver of the vehicle in which Ms Fox was travelling had been trying to overtake another vehicle at the time.

They believe Ms Fox may not have been wearing a seatbelt and hit her head when the accident happened, just a few kilometres from Hook Point.

The vehicle flipped on a straight section of gravel road with a speed limit of 30mph (50kph).

The authorities said there were eight people in the vehicle at the time, seven of whom received injuries.

Two female tourists from Germany were more seriously injured and were evacuated by the air ambulance to a hospital in Hervey Bay.

Two German tourists were evacuated by helicopter ambulance

They suffered head and spine injures and one of them was yesterday said to be recovering at a hotel after being released from hospital.

The others were treated at the scene.

Friends said Ms Fox was "kind, beautiful and selfless" and would be sadly missed.

Bryony MacLeod, tweeted: "RIP Jade, you'll be missed by all who had the pleasure to know you and experience the light, humour and love you bought to ones life."

Steven Maverick Sims said: "RIP Jade Fox. Happiest go lucky smiling girl I knew from my 3 months back in Brados. Unbelievable still now that your gone!"

Australian police are still investigating the cause of the accident. Ms Fox's family are receiving help from the Foreign Office.

An FCO spokesman said: "We can confirm the death of a British national in Australia on 31 October. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."

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RAF Fighter Jets Intercept Russian Bombers

Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to intercept Russian military 'Bear' bombers for the second time in a week, it has emerged.

The Typhoons were sent up from RAF Lossiemouth on Friday to escort the Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-95 aircraft, just two days after UK jets intercepted another two Russian bombers over the North Sea.

It comes amid what NATO described as an "unusual" increase in activity from Russian military jets over European airspace ranging from the Black Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

An RAF spokeswoman said the Russian aircraft had been picked up by the RAF Control and Reporting Centre at Boulmer in Northumberland, which scrambled the Typhoons.

She said: "Following a similar incident on Wednesday 29 October, the RAF Typhoon pilots visually identified the Russian aircraft and escorted them through the UK flight information region."

Video: PM On 'Nerve-Wracking' Plane Drama

Air Vice-Marshal Gary Waterfall, who is in charge of UK air defence, said: "The Royal Air Force was formed to secure the skies over the UK, and it remains our main task.

"This week's news has shown yet again that the RAF's quick reaction alert is an essential element of our nation's security."

The increased Russian activity in the air comes against a backdrop of months of heightened tensions between Moscow and the West following Russia's annexation of Crimea and military incursion into Ukraine.

Analysts say it appears to be a "show of force" by President Vladimir Putin.

Video: Listen To The Sonic Boom

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said the alliance "remains vigilant and ready to respond" to any Russian threat.

On Wednesday, two Typhoons from RAF Coningsby were sent to escort a suspicious plane to Stansted Airport in Essex.

A sonic boom was heard as the jets made their way to the location of the plane, which turned out to be a civilian Latvian cargo aircraft heading for Birmingham with car parts.

The Prime Minister was overheard on Thursday referring to the incident as "nerve-wracking", saying the RAF were "busy over the skies".

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Fireworks Warehouse Blaze: Tributes To Victims

Tributes have been made to the two men who were killed after a series of explosions at a fireworks warehouse.

The bodies of Simon Hillier, who worked at the industrial unit, and Stewart Staples, one of his customers, were discovered by police.

Mr Hillier's relatives said: "Whilst we are still waiting for a formal identification to be made, as a family, we are resigned to the fact that we will not see Simon again.

"We are all very proud of his sporting achievements and everything else he did in life. He was a fantastic son, brother and a terrific dad, we all miss him dearly."

Mr Staples' family – his wife, three children and a young grandson – added: "We are totally shocked and devastated about Stewart's death.

Video: Five Hurt In Fireworks Factory Fire

"We need to come to terms with the tragic loss of someone who was a devoted and much loved family man."

Staffordshire Police said it could take weeks to formally identify the victims, but evidence has placed Mr Hillier, 41, and Mr Staples, 57, at the scene.

Superintendent Ian Coxhead said: "Our sympathies remain with the families involved and we're doing everything we can to help them at this distressing time.

"We anticipate this will be a lengthy and complex investigation. Our work to establish the cause of the fire is going to take considerable time."

A man in his 40s remains in a critical condition at Birmingham Hospital after the explosion, and is suffering from serious burns. Another victim has been discharged and is recuperating at home.

Police said the warehouse was completely destroyed, and described the building as a "dangerous scene".

The unit, based on an industrial estate, had been used to store a "significant volume of fireworks" for four years, and Staffordshire County Council has confirmed that "no safety issues" had been reported with SP Plastics, which owned the unit.

It took hours for dozens of firefighters to bring the blaze under control. One witness described the "deafening and constant noise" as fireworks detonated in the heat.

Police have released a 53-year-old man who had been arrested in connection with the explosion, and he is now being treated as a witness.

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Call For More Parents To Adopt Siblings

By Gemma Morris, Sky News Reporter

A shortage of people willing to adopt more than one child means some brothers and sisters are being split up.

Each year in the UK some 6,000 children need adopting and nearly half of them have siblings, according to research by the British Association for Adoption & Fostering (BAAF).

But matching a pair or group of siblings to a new family is not always easy.

John Simmonds, director of policy, research and development for BAAF, told Sky News part of the reason could be that many prospective adopters get used to the idea of raising just one child.

"The expectation is: 'That's what I can manage, that's what I have in mind when I'm thinking about having children of my own'," he said.

Mr Simmonds says many parents are unwilling to take on siblings

He added that apart from cases where placing siblings together is not appropriate, keeping brothers and sisters with each other is important, particularly as many of the children will have had a difficult start to life.

"Someone doesn't want to add to the trauma of separating children from their birth parents to also separate siblings from each other."

Brothers and sisters are also among the children who wait longest to be matched with a family.

During next week's National Adoption Week the BAAF is hoping to encourage more people to consider adopting siblings.

Karen Goodman, a social worker with 30 years' experience in children's services, told Sky News there is a need for as many potential adopters as possible.

"Social workers and the adoption panels will always try to find prospective adopters who can take sibling groups, but it's a challenge and it's a tall order.

Siblings Frasier and Brandon say living alone would have been 'really hard'

"Also boys are harder to place than girls and the older the children are, the harder they are to place."

Civil partners Scott and Tristan Casson-Rennie adopted two young brothers, Frasier and Brandon, seven years ago.

Scott said: "When they came to live with us and we had some tricky times people would say, 'Well wouldn't it have been better if you just had one of them?'... No."

The boys - who have four siblings elsewhere - are now 15 and 16, and told Sky News they were lucky to have been able to stay with each other.

"I was on my own so I didn't have any other siblings around but when Brandon come along I felt happy again. I felt like I can move on with another person beside me."

Brandon said: "I think it would have been really, really hard to live by myself."

Despite some challenges, their parents hope others will consider the positives of adopting siblings.

Tristan said: "We have two amazing boys that have gone on to do some wonderful things in their teenage years and they will go on now to be amazing adults.

"I firmly believe that is a part of keeping them together, so that they can bounce off each other."

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Father-Of-Three Shot Dead Tackling Robbers

A father of three young children has been shot and killed as he tackled two robbers who attacked him as he closed up his shop for the night.

Pragaret Singh, 35, was hit in the chest and abdomen as he tried to grapple with one of the men outside his store in Openshaw, Greater Manchester.

The shopkeeper, from Swinton, was just leaving Manchester Food Traders off Wood Street when he encountered the pair and confronted them, detectives said.

Mr Singh, known to family and friends as Charlie, died later in hospital.

His brother Toggy told the Manchester Evening News he was a hard-working family man with a wife, Sukhwinder, and children aged two, five and seven.

He said: "He was robbed of his life. He was happy, jolly and full of life - he never said anything bad about anyone. He was the kind of person who'd go out of his way to help anyone in need."

Detective Superintendent Jon Chadwick said: "Although this investigation remains in its infancy, at this stage we believe Charlie's death was the result of simply trying to protect his business from armed robbers, during which he was shot at least twice."

It is thought that the robbers may have made off with a "large amount of money".

Police arrived at the scene at 6.20pm on Friday and found Mr Singh nearby.

Officers have launched a murder investigation into his death and are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.

One of the assailants was described as black, in his 20s or 30s, with spiky knotted hair, clean shaven, of a tall, slim build and wearing a jacket with the sleeves rolled up.

Police are also appealing to anyone with information about a small silver car, possibly a Vauxhall, which may have been used by the offenders and drove off towards Ashton Old Road after the shooting.

Det Supt Chadwick added: "At this stage of our inquiry we believe this is the tragic death of an innocent businessman and father-of-three who was simply trying to protect his livelihood from criminals.

"As a result, Charlie's entire family have suffered an unimaginable loss.

"Their lives have been shattered and specially-trained officers will be providing as much support as the family need over the coming days and weeks."

:: Anyone with information should call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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Tornado Tears Off Roofs In Leicestershire Town

By Joe Tidy, Sky News Reporter

Residents of Coalville in Leicestershire have described the moment strong winds hit the town damaging cars, shops and homes.

A mini tornado struck at around 7am on Sunday, with the winds tearing holes into the roofs of dozens of homes.

Councillor Dr Terri Eynon said the tornado lasted for around 15 minutes and said "things were flying everywhere".

He said: "It cut a line through the town centre about half a mile long and there are lots of terraced houses that were damaged.

"We even found someone's Wendy House on a roof almost half a mile away from where it started off."

Part of the roof of a store at the Belvoir Shopping Centre was ripped off, while other images showed fences had collapsed.

Leicestershire Police confirmed high winds at around 7.20am damaged some properties, adding that no one was injured.

A Met Office spokesman said: "The set up was conducive to tornadic activity and we have had some reliable reports today."

Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, said he was heading to Coalville to inspect the damage.

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Alice Gross Memorial: Mother Tells Of Anger

The mother of murdered schoolgirl Alice Gross has spoken of her "outrage and anger" over the killing of her daughter.

Speaking for the first time since the body of the 14-year-old was discovered, Ros Hodgkiss said she had "wracked" her brains for "all the what-ifs" of the day her daughter was killed.

The teenager's parents told the congregation at a public memorial service for the schoolgirl the "future seems bleak without Alice" and it was the support of friends and the community that kept them going.

Alice Gross was a talented singer

The youngster was last seen alive walking along a tow path in west London on August 28.

Police believe she was murdered by convicted killer Arnis Zalkalns, who was pictured on CCTV following her along the path on his bike.

Video: Family Pays Tribute To Alice Gross

Hundreds attended the humanist service in Greenford, west London, where two songs recorded by Alice were played – reducing many to tears.

Her mother said: "I have been numbed by shock and grief, I have felt outrage and anger at the loss of her life and unbelievable sadness at the emptiness that has been left.

"I have wracked my brains for all the what ifs of that day, anything that might have stopped this random, incomprehensible tragedy.

"It is even harder to talk about that pain than it is to talk about Alice. I cannot imagine life without Alice."

She added: "I think of all the ... hugs, shared jokes, evenings spent snuggled on the sofa, goodnight kisses, the confidence of after-school conversations, Alice playing the piano in her dressing gown (and) singing, shopping, baking, the way Alice still called me 'mummy'.

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1. Gallery: Town Says Final Farewell To Alice Gross

   Mourners light candles in memory of murdered teenager Alice Gross

3. The funeral cortege passes through Hanwell

4. Mourners line the streets to pay their respects

5. Alice's was painted by Nina, Alice's Grandmother, Anne Hodgkiss, and family friend, Carole McCourt

6. Tributes in memory of murdered teenager Alice Gross at Hanwell Clock Tower

7. A family photo shows murdered teenager Alice Gross (centre left) as a child, with her mother Rosalind Hodgkiss (left), father Jose Gross and sister Nina Hodgkiss (right)

8. A number pictures of Alice during her childhood have been released by her family

"The future seems bleak without Alice. It is only the incredible support of family friends and the wider community that has kept us going."

Despite the biggest police search since the aftermath of the July 7 bombings, it was more than a month before Alice's body was found in the River Brent, near where she lived in Hanwell.

Zalkalns, who had previously served seven years for murdering his wife in his native Latvia, was found hanged in nearby Boston Manor Park on October 4.

A Facebook page set up to help find Alice attracted 22,000 followers, while yellow ribbons appeared around the community.

Alice's father, John, said: "The response of the community was astonishing.

Video: Difficulties Of Alice Police Search

"I was amazed by how much people were touched by our ongoing tragedy and how much they cared.

"No one could pass through Hanwell and beyond without being aware that Alice was missing and that the community cared.

"When I felt very low the sight of the ribbons lifted my spirits."

The family has asked for donations to Alice's Youth Music Memorial Fund, which will benefit the National Foundation for Youth Music.

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New Law Plan To Tackle Mobile Phone Blackspots

Mobile telephone users could soon be able to talk to their friends even when they enter a signal blackspot, if proposed new legislation goes ahead.

Culture Secretary Sajid Javid wants to change the law to force networks to allow customers to switch providers when their phones cannot find a signal.

It has been estimated that a fifth of Britain suffers from an unreliable mobile phone signal.

The Government is expected to start a consultation process on the reforms this week.

It follows the failure of the 'big four' phone operators - Vodafone, O2, EE and Three - to reach an agreement on improving reception in areas where it is poor.

In most of the areas, at least one or two of the networks have sufficient coverage for people to receive a signal.

Mr Javid is understood to believe that the companies should be forced to allow 'roaming' between networks to ensure that everyone can receive a signal regardless of which operator they are with.

Currently, customers who have contracts with one network cannot make calls, send text messages or transfer data using another network.

Yet, whenever a customer travels abroad, they are able to use any network their operator has an agreement with.

A Whitehall source told The Daily Telegraph: "We want to eradicate this situation of partial not-spots.

"There is expected to be a consultation in the coming days and this could include a legislative option. If these companies do not change, we might force them to change."

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