Written By Unknown on Minggu, 14 Desember 2014 | 23.39
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released three new photos of their son Prince George as he prepares to celebrate his second Christmas.
George, who is 17-months-old, is seen sitting in the courtyard at Kensington Palace in the photos taken last month.
The pictures are the first official images released by the royal family since George's first birthday in July when he was shown at a butterfly exhibition at London's Natural History Museum.
In the new photos, he is wearing a blue sleeveless jumper featuring marching guardsmen complete with bearskins and red tunics.
He also has a white top and dark shorts and matching socks and shoes.
Video:New Prince George Photos Released
In one of the pictures, George has a quizzical look and is gesturing with his right hand as if about to make an announcement.
In another, he sits back with a grin on his face, and in the third stares at something out of shot.
The Duke and Duchess did not give a reason for releasing the photos.
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Gallery: Photos On George's First Birthday
The prince appears beguiled by flying insects - William and Kate have released two new family photographs to mark Prince George's first birthday.
Prince George appears to have dribbled on Kate's shoulder in one picture
The head of the UK's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) is demanding to see material documenting any British links to the CIA's use of torture.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chair of the Commons committee, is seeking any intelligence relating to the UK that was redacted from the explosive Senate report into the CIA.
It concluded that the CIA lied over its torture and interrogation programme developed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
Sir Malcolm told Sky's Murnaghan programme: "This is a major United States' report and so we are requesting, both our colleagues on the Senate Intelligence Committee ... but also it will ultimately be the United States government, that will decide whether some of the material that has been redacted in the American report can be shown to us.
Jack Straw has been questioned by police over renditions, say reports
"We don't need to see everything that's been redacted, what we need to see are the bits that might refer to the UK government."
Asked whether that information would be made public, he said the ISC would only agree for it to be withheld "if the Prime Minister was able to convince us that there were legitimate national security reasons why it shouldn't be published".
Video:Former CIA Officer Michael Scheuer
He said there had been "justified" criticism of the ISC in the past, but it had new powers to order intelligence agencies to hand over requested files and for its staff to go to MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to "personally inspect files to make sure nothing's been left out".
He said once the ISC had looked through the written material, "we will come to a judgement as to which people, first of all who in the intelligence agencies we wish to take evidence from, secondly either current ministers or former ministers who have intelligence on these matters".
Sir Malcolm said he does not think a judge-led inquiry into any British involvement in the CIA's rendition and torture programme is necessary.
Video:UK Bid To Access CIA Torture Report
He agreed the ISC does not have the power to compel ministers to give evidence, "but, of course, it would be huge scandal if they did refuse to".
The British Government has admitted requesting the deletion of references to Britain's intelligence agencies for national security reasons.
UK Government representatives had 24 meetings with members of the US committee responsible for the findings.
Video:MI5 And MI6 Involvement Questioned
Some of the deletions are believed to relate to the British Overseas Territory of Diego Garcia.
There is escalating pressure on the British government not to extend an agreement allowing the US to use the territory in the Indian Ocean as a military base.
Andrew Tyrie, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on rendition, said any negotiations should address allegations that it was used by the CIA to render terror suspects around the world.
Video:UK Involvement in CIA Torture
"The negotiations on the lease can focus minds on establishing the scope and limits of Britain's involvement, direct or indirect, in extraordinary rendition," Mr Tyrie said.
"We are talking about kidnap and taking people to places where they may be maltreated or tortured."
The former Home Office minister, Lib Dem MP Norman Baker, who has taken a close interest in the atoll, said: "As it comes up for renewal, we need a full explanation of what happened in our name on that island."
Video:UK Wanted CIA Report Changes
It comes amid reports former foreign secretary Jack Straw was questioned by police investigating the abductions of two Libyans who say they were handed to Colonel Gaddafi and tortured by his regime.
Mr Straw was interviewed as a "witness" by Scotland Yard following claims the Government was complicit in the rendition of the two men and their families, the Sunday Times said.
Families in Britain are increasingly buying Christmas trees that were grown in the UK rather than ones that have been imported, according to UK suppliers.
The British Christmas Tree Growers' Association (BCTGA) estimates that in the last six years the total number being grown here in the UK has risen by as much as 20%.
This is reflected in the proportion of British and imported trees being bought at shops and markets across the country.
Six years ago it was evenly split with approximately half being shipped in from Europe, according to the BCTGA.
The association's members now say British-grown plants account for some 70% of the total number of trees sold in the UK.
Harry Brightwell, secretary of the BCTGA, told Sky News: "People are much more conscious of environmental issues and the fact of buying a British grown tree usually means the transport is less."
At Yattendon Estates, a Christmas tree farm in West Berkshire, a cold and frosty morning was no deterrent to customers looking to buy a tree as the calendar counts down the days to Christmas.
Manager Alastair Jeffrey said: "Ten years ago our European competitors stole a march on us… now UK industry has really concentrated on making sure we're right up to spec… quality is the name of the game."
The majority of trees sold in Britain are Nordmann Firs which, for a six foot tree, will cost upwards of £45.
Among the Nordmann Firs grown in Britain are those supplied to Downing Street, which this year took trees from Herefordshire and the Gower, according to BCTGA.
With up to eight million trees already being sold by British producers, the move away from European imports spells continued growth for this part of the rural economy.
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Gallery: Geminid Meteor Lights Up Skies
Rottingdean Windmill, near Brighton. Pic: Sumitra Sri Sribhashyam
The sky was lit up in different colours. Pic: Mike Williams
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The display in the UK began just after midnight. Pic: Dave Algers
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Another great view of the display, this time over Butser Ancient Farm. Pic: Adrian Jurd
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Stargazers have enjoyed a celestial firework display as one of the year's most spectacular meteor showers reached its fiery peak in the UK.
Clear skies ensured good views of the Geminid meteor shower.
Just after midnight, some very bright meteors raced across the sky.
The official Geminid "maximum" is at 11am today, but daylight will prevent them from being seen then.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth ploughs through clouds of cometary dust.
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Gallery: Previous Geminid Displays
A Geminid meteor between peaks of the Seven Sisters rock formation in Nevada, 2010
A meteor shower lights up the sky over the Mexican volcano Popocatepetl near the village San Nicolas de los Ranchos in Mexico, 2004
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The sky above the Seven Sisters rock formation in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, 2007
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The tiny particles, some no bigger than a grain of sand, burn up brightly as they enter the atmosphere.
The Geminids are unusual in that they are not shed by a classic icy comet but a body that shares characteristics of both comets and asteroids.
Known as 3200 Phaethon, the three-mile-wide object was discovered in 1983 by two British scientists examining Nasa satellite images and initially classified as an asteroid.
But it has an eccentric orbit that looks more like that of a comet than an asteroid and brings it well inside the orbit of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, every 1.4 years. Nasa describes it as a "rock comet".
Traditionally asteroids are made of rock and comets mostly of ice.
Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: "It's not as clear-cut as it used to be. A lot of asteroids are quite icy. There are asteroids that look a bit like comets and comets that look a bit like asteroids."
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Geminid Meteor Lights Up The Night Skies
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1/6
Gallery: Geminid Meteor Lights Up Skies
Rottingdean Windmill, near Brighton. Pic: Sumitra Sri Sribhashyam
The sky was lit up in different colours. Pic: Mike Williams
]]>
The display in the UK began just after midnight. Pic: Dave Algers
]]>
Another great view of the display, this time over Butser Ancient Farm. Pic: Adrian Jurd
]]>
Stargazers have enjoyed a celestial firework display as one of the year's most spectacular meteor showers reached its fiery peak in the UK.
Clear skies ensured good views of the Geminid meteor shower.
Just after midnight, some very bright meteors raced across the sky.
The official Geminid "maximum" is at 11am today, but daylight will prevent them from being seen then.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth ploughs through clouds of cometary dust.
1/5
Gallery: Previous Geminid Displays
A Geminid meteor between peaks of the Seven Sisters rock formation in Nevada, 2010
A meteor shower lights up the sky over the Mexican volcano Popocatepetl near the village San Nicolas de los Ranchos in Mexico, 2004
]]>
The sky above the Seven Sisters rock formation in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, 2007
]]>
The tiny particles, some no bigger than a grain of sand, burn up brightly as they enter the atmosphere.
The Geminids are unusual in that they are not shed by a classic icy comet but a body that shares characteristics of both comets and asteroids.
Known as 3200 Phaethon, the three-mile-wide object was discovered in 1983 by two British scientists examining Nasa satellite images and initially classified as an asteroid.
But it has an eccentric orbit that looks more like that of a comet than an asteroid and brings it well inside the orbit of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, every 1.4 years. Nasa describes it as a "rock comet".
Traditionally asteroids are made of rock and comets mostly of ice.
Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: "It's not as clear-cut as it used to be. A lot of asteroids are quite icy. There are asteroids that look a bit like comets and comets that look a bit like asteroids."
The Scottish National Party is on course to win over a quarter of a million ex-Labour General Election votes in Scotland, according to analysis carried out by the British Election Survey for Sky News.
The newly-published BES data shows the SNP at 42%, over double its 19.9% share at the 2010 General Election.
It also shows the full extent of the challenge facing the new Scottish Labour leader, Jim Murphy.
Just under half a million Scots voted for the SNP at Westminster in 2010.
The BES shows that they can hope to capture many more of the 1.6 million Yes voters from September's independence referendum.
Video:Murphy Named Scottish Labour Leader
Just 27% of those polled said they would vote Labour, versus 42% who voted for Gordon Brown in 2010.
The BES indicates 28% of Scots who say they will vote for the SNP voted for the Labour party in the 2010 General Election.
If repeated in May, that alone would leave the SNP close to the largest number of votes in Scotland.
Some experts have said that such a swing puts many "safe" Labour seats with massive majorities into play for the General Election.
James Dennison of Oxford University told Sky News: "Labour look set to lose a quarter of a million voters to the SNP in Scotland - out of just over a million voters last time.
"Bear in mind also that the SNP have never come anywhere near Labour in a general election - in fact they've struggled to outpoll the Tories in terms of votes in previous elections."
The data is from the most comprehensive poll of 30,000 voters in the UK, including nearly 5,000 Scots, and the questions were asked in September and October.
Subsequent smaller-scale polls have confirmed this picture.
Video:Salmond To Run For Westminster Seat
SNP sources told Sky News they were confident that the past pattern of voters supporting the party at Holyrood elections but returning to Labour at General Elections was changing.
The SNP is yet to formulate a formal target list, but Sky News has seen early analyses from senior nationalists.
Seats were analysed on the basis of a structural collapse in the Lib Dem vote.
The BES data show just 3% of Scots polled saying they will vote Lib Dem, down from an 18.9% vote share, suggesting that party is at risk of going from third to sixth place in Scotland.
On that basis, nationalists calculate that many more Labour seats become a plausible target for the SNP, requiring only a single digit swing.
The SNP expect to do well next May at the expense of both Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
Former First Minister Alex Salmond is a candidate for selection for the SNP in the Gordon seat, currently held by the retiring Lib Dem Sir Malcolm Bruce.
The former Labour First Minister Henry Mcleish told Sky News that "Labour is facing a crisis" and that it should "stop hating the SNP and instead learn from the SNP".
Video:Nov: 'SNP Will Not Join Tories'
But there was some comfort for the new Scottish leader from the BES figures.
Many anti-independence and coalition-sceptical Lib Dems seem to be turning to Labour, limiting the collapse in their vote.
"Some of Labour's biggest majorities in the UK are in Scotland and this data would suggest that they'll keep those so there won't be a complete SNP whitewash. The data also suggests big movements of unionist Lib Dems to Labour," Mr Dennison told Sky News.
Sky News was granted exclusive access to an event in Aberdeen marking the surge in SNP membership.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Sky News her party had "captured the mood" of a new "direct and participative form of democracy" and it could "win" the General Election in Scotland.
That would suggest at least a fourfold increase in the number of SNP MPs from the existing six.
Businesses are furious after a piece of software used by retailers on Amazon went wrong, causing hundreds of items to be sold for 1p.
Some firms which use RepricerExpress say they risk going bankrupt because the problem has resulted in them losing so much money.
The software is designed to keep businesses competitive by automatically repricing items of stock so they are cheaper than others in the digital market.
The firm states on its website: "We are here to increase your sales on Amazon and Rakuten's Play.com and make your efforts as profitable as possible."
For an hour on Friday, between 7pm and 8pm, a problem with RepricerExpress led to hundreds of items being sold on Amazon at a fraction of their normal price. At the same time, some customers said, Amazon charged its usual fees for every item sold.
One of the sellers, Judith Blackford of Kiddymania, told Sky News she could be forced out of business as result of the error.
She said: "I started using Repricer Express - a repricing tool as did a lot of other businesses a few months ago.
"Last night through an error in their programme they listed my stock on Amazon at 1p per item including delivery.
"I have lost about £20,000 overnight. Having asked Amazon to cancel the orders they are still sending them out and charging me horrendous fees.
"Surely someone has to be accountable for this. I will be bankrupt at this rate by the end of January."
Amazon uses automated pricing software created by RepricerExpress
Another retailer affected, Discount Discs, told Sky News: "We are yet to quantify the amount of stock we have lost but we are aware of other sellers losing around £100k of stock.
"This has happened on probably the busiest trading weekend of the year for many sellers."
As a result of the error, several buyers commented on Twitter at how pleased they were to have bought the items for so little.
One person wrote: "Amazon are having a glitch on their site and loads of stuff is selling for 1p. I just bought an incense holder, don't even need it."
An email to some customers from the CEO of RepricerExpress, Brendan Doherty, said the problems with the software caused incorrect pricing to be sent to Amazon.
A statement on the company's website from Mr Doherty said: "I am truly sorry for the distress this has caused our customers.
"We have received communication that Amazon will not penalise sellers for this error. We are continuing to work to identify how this problem occurred and to put measures in place to ensure that it does not happen again.
"Everyone here is devastated and disappointed that you have experienced this problem.
"We understand that you are angry and upset and we will endeavour to work to make good on this issue."
A spokesman for Amazon said: "We are aware that a number of Marketplace sellers listed incorrect prices for a short period of time as a result of the third party software they use to price their items on Amazon.co.uk.
"We responded quickly and were able to cancel the vast majority of orders placed on these affected items immediately and no costs or fees will be incurred by sellers for these cancelled orders.
"We are now reviewing the small number of orders that were processed and will be reaching out to any affected sellers directly."
Tax bosses have promised the service offered by public helplines will be improved, after it was revealed that almost a third of calls are getting cut off.
Research by consumer group Which? found that, in a sample of 100 calls, only 71 were not cut off with an automated message saying the service was "very busy".
Those calls that did survive this initial cut waited an average of 18 minutes to speak to someone, with the longest waiting 41 minutes.
The system's voice recognition also made mistakes when directing queries to other departments, with more complex phrases being misunderstood.
For example, when asked "do I need to pay tax on premium bond winnings?" the system asked if the caller was inquiring about changing a name or about a VAT surcharge notice.
The research comes in the run-up to the self-assessment tax return deadline of 31 January.
HM Revenue and Customs admitted the service "isn't good enough" and that new technology is being brought in to improve responses.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "With large numbers of people soon to be seeking help with their self-assessment tax return, we want to see HMRC doing more to monitor and improve their call-waiting times."
A spokesman for HMRC said: "HMRC receives over 40 million calls a year but we know that some of our customers can struggle to get through on our helplines at very busy times. This isn't good enough, and we are working hard to improve the range of services we provide.
"This year we are introducing new technology to help us answer more calls quicker at busy times, and we are improving the digital services we offer so that more customers can find all they need online.
"There is more to do, and we are committed to improving the service we offer all of our customers at all times, to help them find advice and support when they need it."
The body in charge of Britain's air traffic control system was warned four months ago that its plan to deal with technical faults was not clear enough, it has been claimed.
A computer glitch at NATS control centre in Hampshire on Friday led more than 300 flights being cancelled or delayed and travel disruption for thousands of passengers.
The air traffic control organisation NATS said on Saturday that the computer meltdown was sparked by an unprecedented systems failure.
It was the second major problem to hit the Swanwick centre in just over a year.
A report in the Independent on Sunday says the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) warned NATS officials in the summer that they needed to be better prepared to deal with IT problems.
Video:Plane Chaos: Fault 'Unprecedented'
The newspaper also said that experts had warned NATS that a huge redundancy programme might deepen the problem, resulting in serious future meltdowns.
A spokesman for the CAA said: "We said to NATS that the report that they had produced as a result of their investigation into the December failing in 2013 lacked clarity ... and subsequently there was more work done on that."
He was unable to confirm whether or not that report contained information about plans NATS would put into action in the event of a technical failure.
But Business Secretary Vince Cable suggested NATS was using "ancient" computer systems after "skimping" on investment.
He told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show: "I think the Transport Secretary very sensibly is wanting a report on this on Monday morning to find out what has happened.
"In agencies like NATS, as in the banks and the private sector, they've been skimping on large-scale investment for very many years.
"Often the easy thing to do under financial pressure is to be penny wise and pound foolish and to forego capital investment so they've got very ancient computer systems which then crash.
"We have to maintain a high level of capital investment."
Meanwhile, an MP called for the top boss of NATS to lose his bonuses as a result of Friday's fault.
Richard Deakin, NATS chief executive, said the software glitch was "buried" among millions of lines of code written a quarter of a century ago.
Video:Flights Delayed In London Airspace
But Labour MP Paul Flynn told The Sunday Times that Mr Deakin earns more than £1m after receiving a 45% pay rise this year.
"I hope after the chaos, which was dreadful, though a rare event, he will have his bonuses stripped from him," he said.
NATS said operations were back to normal on Saturday with only minor delays and cancellations at some of the UK's airports as a result of a backlog.
A statement from NATS said: "Swanwick controller workstations provide a number of tools and services to the controller to enable them to safely control a high volume of air traffic.
"In normal operations the number of workstations in use versus in standby fluctuates with the demands of the traffic being controlled.
"In this instance a transition between the two states caused a failure in the system which has not been seen before.
"The failure meant that the controllers were unable to access all of the data regarding individual flight plans which significantly increases their workload.
"We immediately took steps to reduce the traffic into and out of the UK network. At no time was safety compromised in any way."
Mr Deakin said NATS is investing a "huge amount" in new technology, with £575m set to be spent over the next five years to move towards more resilient, internet-based systems.
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Mr Smith is to fight South Basildon and East Thurrock for UKIP next May
A high-profile UKIP Westminster hopeful has been forced to apologise over making racist and homophobic remarks.
Kerry Smith, a member of both Essex County Council and Basildon District Council, issued a statement just days after being reinstated as the party's general election candidate in one of its top target seats.
Neil Hamilton stepped aside after Mr Smith was reinstated
He suggested he had been stressed at the time of the comments and taking strong pain killers.
In recordings of phone calls obtained by the Mail on Sunday, Mr Smith is said to have mocked gay party members as "poofters", and referred to someone as a "chinky bird".
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Gallery: The UKIP History In Pictures
1993: UKIP is founded by Alan Sked in response to the Maastricht Treaty, which set out the modern day EU and paved the way for the Euro. He left the party in 1997 saying it had become a "racist party for the far-right". He is now the leader of New Deal, which has been called UKIP of the Left.
1999: The party takes its first three seats in the European Parliament, under the leadership of the millionaire businessman Michael Holmes. Nigel Farage is one of those MEPs.
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2000: Michael Holmes resigns and Jeffrey Titford takes over as leader of UKIP. He leads the party to field 420 candidates at the 2001 General Election and secure 1.5% of the vote.
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2002: Former Conservative Roger Knapman takes over at the helm.
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2004: The party wins 12 seats at the European Elections, among the UKIP MEPs is the chat show host Robert Kilroy Silk.
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He also joked about shooting people from Chigwell in a "peasant hunt".
After his words - which he claimed were made two-and-half years ago - became public, Mr Smith said: "I wish to issue a wholehearted and unreserved apology to those I have offended within the party and anyone else."
In a bid to explain his comments he pointed out "at the time of this recording I was considering my resignation due to major management changes which I have since discovered I completely misread and misunderstood".
"For the record I was also on a strong morphine based prescription medication for a back injury," he said.
Mr Kerry also accepted claims he made in the calls about party leader Nigel Farage and other senior figures were "completely wrong" and "fuelled by frustrations at the time".
Mr Smith was deselected as the candidate for South Basildon and East Thurrock in October - with Neil Hamilton, the former Tory minister who is now UKIP's deputy chairman, in the running to win the nomination.
But Mr Hamilton ended up endorsing the Essex county councillor in his hustings speech after Mr Smith was reinstated.
It led the ex-Conservative to hit out at party insiders over a "dirty tricks" campaign being run against him.
UKIP MEP Patrick O'Flynn said of Mr Smith's comments: "He needs to learn to express himself more respectfully about minorities of all kinds now he is off the prescription drugs and he is our candidate."
But he added: "He is very popular... He is a young man, he is learning politics.
"We don't want to become so anodyne and speaking in such non-colloquial language that we lose touch and I think some of the other parties risk doing that.
"But clearly what he said there is unacceptable. He has apologised unreservedly. There are big mitigating circumstances.
"It is from some time ago and we are willing now to judge him on his performance going forward from now."
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We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Mr Smith is to fight South Basildon and East Thurrock for UKIP next May
A high-profile UKIP Westminster hopeful has been forced to apologise over making racist and homophobic remarks.
Kerry Smith, a member of both Essex County Council and Basildon District Council, issued a statement just days after being reinstated as the party's general election candidate in one of its top target seats.
Neil Hamilton stepped aside after Mr Smith was reinstated
He suggested he had been stressed at the time of the comments and taking strong pain killers.
In recordings of phone calls obtained by the Mail on Sunday, Mr Smith is said to have mocked gay party members as "poofters", and referred to someone as a "chinky bird".
1/16
Gallery: The UKIP History In Pictures
1993: UKIP is founded by Alan Sked in response to the Maastricht Treaty, which set out the modern day EU and paved the way for the Euro. He left the party in 1997 saying it had become a "racist party for the far-right". He is now the leader of New Deal, which has been called UKIP of the Left.
1999: The party takes its first three seats in the European Parliament, under the leadership of the millionaire businessman Michael Holmes. Nigel Farage is one of those MEPs.
]]>
2000: Michael Holmes resigns and Jeffrey Titford takes over as leader of UKIP. He leads the party to field 420 candidates at the 2001 General Election and secure 1.5% of the vote.
]]>
2002: Former Conservative Roger Knapman takes over at the helm.
]]>
2004: The party wins 12 seats at the European Elections, among the UKIP MEPs is the chat show host Robert Kilroy Silk.
]]>
He also joked about shooting people from Chigwell in a "peasant hunt".
After his words - which he claimed were made two-and-half years ago - became public, Mr Smith said: "I wish to issue a wholehearted and unreserved apology to those I have offended within the party and anyone else."
In a bid to explain his comments he pointed out "at the time of this recording I was considering my resignation due to major management changes which I have since discovered I completely misread and misunderstood".
"For the record I was also on a strong morphine based prescription medication for a back injury," he said.
Mr Kerry also accepted claims he made in the calls about party leader Nigel Farage and other senior figures were "completely wrong" and "fuelled by frustrations at the time".
Mr Smith was deselected as the candidate for South Basildon and East Thurrock in October - with Neil Hamilton, the former Tory minister who is now UKIP's deputy chairman, in the running to win the nomination.
But Mr Hamilton ended up endorsing the Essex county councillor in his hustings speech after Mr Smith was reinstated.
It led the ex-Conservative to hit out at party insiders over a "dirty tricks" campaign being run against him.
UKIP MEP Patrick O'Flynn said of Mr Smith's comments: "He needs to learn to express himself more respectfully about minorities of all kinds now he is off the prescription drugs and he is our candidate."
But he added: "He is very popular... He is a young man, he is learning politics.
"We don't want to become so anodyne and speaking in such non-colloquial language that we lose touch and I think some of the other parties risk doing that.
"But clearly what he said there is unacceptable. He has apologised unreservedly. There are big mitigating circumstances.
"It is from some time ago and we are willing now to judge him on his performance going forward from now."
The son of a Mayfair nightclub owner has been charged with his father's murder after he was found stabbed in London's West End.
The body of David West, 70, who ran the HeyJo club, was discovered at a residential address - thought to be his home - in Ormond Yard, behind Jermyn Street, near Piccadilly, on Friday evening.
A post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death as a single stab wound.
Mr West's body was found at an address in Ormond Yard, behind Jermyn Street
His son, also called David West, 44, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Mr West Senior, who started out selling flowers and groceries from a Romford market stall, made his fortune selling cheap alcohol and cigarettes first from a double-decker bus in Calais, and then a warehouse called Eastenders.
The successful entrepreneur and self-syled lord also owned the Abracadabra restaurant in Jermyn Street, which specialises in Russian cuisine, and ran a "penthouse-style" guest house.
He is said to have bought the title of "Lord of the Manor of Hollesley" on eBay.
In 2007, Mr West hired Cherie Blair, the barrister and wife of former prime minister Tony Blair, to challenge the smoking ban.
Friends have paid tribute to him on Facebook.
Mickey Helliet said he was "absolutely gutted" at the death of his "longstanding friend".
He said: "Life is precious and can be snatched away at any moment. I normally go to see Dave and have a couple of drinks with him in one of his clubs at Christmas.
"I loved going to his clubs. Really going to miss him, a real character. RIP."
Jelena Gauthier said she was "in utter disbelief".
She wrote: "RIP David West you were always such a gracious host, flamboyant man and a playful soul you will be missed by many."
