Olympic Stadium: West Ham Poised To Take Over

West Ham United are poised to win the battle for the Olympic stadium after being named as "first ranked" bidder to take over the venue.

The London Legacy Development Corporation board (LLDC) unanimously made the decision in favour of the Premier League club ahead of rivals from Intelligent Transport Services in association with Formula One, UCFB College of Football Business and Leyton Orient.

London Mayor and LLDC chairman Boris Johnson said: "We had four good bids, as everybody knows. The bid that has been ranked top is West Ham United. I am very pleased about that.

"It will, if it goes through, mean a football legacy for the stadium but there is still a lot of negotiation to go on between the LLDC and West Ham United about the terms of the deal."

If the move goes ahead, West Ham would move from their Upton Park home, but the new stadium is not expected to open before August 2015 at the earliest.

The main issue still to be resolved is how future commercial windfalls from the £468m stadium will be split.

West Ham's owners David Sullivan and David Gold will be expected to share the profits from any future sale of the club to ensure the taxpayer is not left out of pocket.

The deal would see West Ham leave their Upton Park home

Other undecided factors include adaptations to the stadium and who bears the cost, and gaining planning permission and appropriate national governing body approvals.

If football use can be agreed, the stadium would be reconfigured to provide retractable and moveable seating so there could be a quick changeover between athletics and football use.

That work is expected to cost £130-£150m, with the bulk funded by public money, including a £40m loan from Newham Council, the local authority.

Mr Johnson said: "There is no deal-breaker as such - it is just a question of making sure that an asset which is a public asset and something that taxpayers put half a billion pounds into, that the value of that is properly reflected in the commercial deal that is now being done with a private sector entity.

West Ham's David Gold and Karren Brady welcomed the decision

"People will understand that my job is to get the best possible deal for the taxpayer."

West Ham said the LLDC's decision "guarantees a true and lasting legacy for east London and the best possible outcome for the British taxpayer".

Vice-chairman Karren Brady said the stadium could become a "multi-use destination of which east London and the nation as a whole can be proud".

"I have never lost sight of our vision to play our part, along with the Stadium's major stakeholders, in ensuring it grows into a global asset. It is the 'jewel in the crown' of the Park, watched by the world," she added.

A previous deal for West Ham to take up the lease collapsed in October 2011 due to legal challenges from Leyton Orient and Tottenham Hotspur.

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Dewani Murder: 'Trigger Man' Jailed For Life

A South African man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Swedish woman Anni Dewani on her honeymoon.

Xolile Mngeni, 25, was convicted by a court in Cape Town of firing the shot that killed the 28-year-old woman in 2010.

Judge Robert Henney called the shooter "a merciless and evil person" who deserved the maximum punishment for his crime.

"He had no regard to her right to freedom, dignity, and totally disregarded and showed no respect to her right to life by brutally killing her with utter disdain," Judge Henney said.

Mngeni, who had surgery to remove a brain tumour while facing trial, maintained his innocence.

Two of the men accused of being his accomplices are already serving lengthy prison sentences after entering into plea bargains.

Zola Tongo and Mziwamadoda Qwabe both implicated Mngeni and said they had been hired by Mrs Dewani's British husband, Shrien, to kill his wife.

Shrien Dewani pictured last year

A motive has never been clearly explained for why Dewani, a businessman from Bristol, would want his new bride killed.

He has denied he hired anyone to kill his wife and was allowed by authorities to leave South Africa for the UK, where he was later arrested.

He is currently being treated in a secure mental health hospital for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In March, a High Court ruled that it would be "unjust and oppressive" to extradite Dewani to South Africa, as his mental condition had worsened since his arrest.

Mrs Dewani was shot when a taxi the couple were travelling in was hijacked in Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town.

Prosecutors said Mngeni, Qwabe and Tongo were paid 15,000 rand (£1,066) for the killing.

Mngeni's left palm print was found on the car in which Mrs Dewani's body was recovered, the court heard during his trial.

Her watch, bracelet and mobile phone were also discovered in Mngeni's friend's shack.

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Dettori Suspended From Racing For Six Months

Frankie Dettori has been suspended from riding for six months after being found guilty of taking a banned substance.

The three-times British champion jockey tested positive following a routine examination at Longchamp racecourse in France on September 16.

French horseracing's governing body France Galop issued the ban following a recent hearing, and the British Horseracing Authority is likely to follow suit.

The 41-year-old's solicitor Christopher Stewart-Moore said the jockey "fully accepts" the ban, which lasts until May 19.

"France Galop have today announced their finding Frankie Dettori has committed a breach of their rules relating to prohibited substances," said Mr Stewart-Moore.

"I have spoken to Frankie since the announcement was made and he has told me he fully accepts France Galop's decision. He also accepts that he has let down the sport he loves and all those associated with it, as well as the wider public.

"But most of all, and this is his greatest regret, he has let down his wife and children."

Mr Stewart-Moore said Dettori was "enormously grateful" for the support of his fans, adding: "Racing has been good to Frankie and he knows that his privileged position brings with it responsibility.

"For this reason he is determined to rebuild his reputation when he returns to the saddle. Frankie could make excuses. He has, after all, regularly been tested for prohibited substances throughout his career. He is clear, however, that the responsibility for his current situation lies squarely with him."

The length of the ban means he will be able to return in time for the key Derby and Royal Ascot race meetings.

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Girl, Four, Dies After Level Crossing Crash

A four-year-old girl who was injured when the car she was travelling in collided with a train at a level crossing has died in hospital.

Emma Lifsey had been airlifted to Sheffield Children's Hospital after the incident in Nottinghamshire on Tuesday.

A British Transport Police spokesman said "she was sadly pronounced dead in the early hours Wednesday".

The other person injured in the crash, a 67-year-old woman who was driving the car, remains in hospital and is in stable condition.

The girl's parents, Mark and Zoe Lifsey, said in a statement: "Emma meant the world to us. She was our much-loved daughter and a baby sister to her 11-year-old brother Jack.

"We are still trying to come to terms with the terrible incident on Tuesday afternoon and there are no words that can properly express how utterly distraught we are."

The Beech Hill crossing after the crash

The couple said they were thankful for the support received in the aftermath of the incident, but sought privacy at a time of grief.

They added: "This tragic incident has left us shocked and devastated and we would ask that we can be left to grieve in private at this acutely difficult and sad time for us."

The woman travelling in the car, a black Volvo, sustained serious neck injuries and bruising.

Police were investigating the accident, and said they would talk to any witnesses while experts examine evidence from the scene and the car.

Girl's death has left her parents 'shocked and devastated'

The train, a Lincoln to Doncaster service, was damaged but remained upright and on the tracks. No injuries have been reported among passengers or staff onboard.

Speaking at the scene on Tuesday, Inspector Andy Selby of the British Transport Police declined to comment on whether the barriers and lights at the unmanned crossing were working correctly.

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18th Century Chateau Wrecked 'By Mistake'

Residents of a sleepy French village near Bordeaux have been astonished to discover that their local 18th-century chateau was completely bulldozed "by mistake".

The mayor's office in Yvrac said workers who were hired to renovate the grand 13,000-square-metre (140,000-square-foot) estate in November and pull down a small building mixed them up.

"The Chateau de Bellevue was Yvrac's pride and joy," former owner Juliette Marmie said, adding: "The whole village is in shock. How can this construction firm make such a mistake?"

The chateau's current owner, Russian businessman Dmitry Stroskin, was away at the time and returned to discover his chateau - with a grand hall that could seat some 200 people - was nothing but rubble.

According to Sud-Ouest, Mr Stroskin had no idea what was going to happen.

"I didn't know the chateau was destroyed, I'm shocked," the businessman said, insisting he was commissioning an architect from Paris to rebuild the chateau to make an exact replica.

The Russian, who is reported to run an import-export company which exports products from France to Poland and Russia, says he is not going to pursue the builders over their mistake.

"I totally understand the excitement among local community members and the procedure at the prosecutor's (which is looking into the matter), but I'm not going to look for those responsible for this error; the damage is done."

The company that did the building work has its cars registered in Poland, according to Sud-Ouest.

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Weather: Flights Delayed After Snow In London

A dusting of snow across the South East has caused transport chaos, temporarily closing a major airport and delaying road and rail journeys.

Forecasters said the snow had amounted to no more than "one or two centimetres in places", yet thousands of people's journeys were delayed.

Stansted airport in Essex was shut from about 6am to 8.30am, with passengers complaining they had been given incorrect information.

No trains were able to run between Watford Junction in Hertfordshire and Harrow and Wealdstone in North West London, while snow caused delays of up to 90 minutes between London and Reading in Berkshire.

Motorists were stranded on the A169 high up on the North Yorkshire Moors.

Trains were unable to run between Barnes and Hounslow via Brentford in West London, while there were delays between London and Ashford International in Kent.

There were also delays on the London Overground, and the Metropolitan, Central and Bakerloo Tube lines, while a faulty train led to delays on the Victoria line.

The snow also caused significant transport problems elsewhere in the country.

National Rail has reported delays in Nottingham, Doncaster, Crewe, and Congleton in Cheshire, where a person was struck by a train.

Cheetahs at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire survey the winter scene

The snowy conditions led to a crash involving ten vehicles on the London-bound carriageway of the A299 Thanet Way at Whitstable in Kent. Police say there were no serious injuries.

Essex Police said there were 78 crashes between 6am and 11.30am, injuring 13 people - one seriously.

Buses had to replace trains between Redhill in Surrey and Tonbridge in Kent. The A120 was one of the many roads in Essex to be affected by the weather. The A171 near Scarborough was one of Yorkshire's snow-hit routes.

The AA has attended more than 5,000 breakdowns, with a peak at around 8am of 1,300 an hour.

Passengers queue to board a delayed flight at Stansted Airport

It said the Home Counties, particularly Essex, had been badly hit.

British Gas said it had put its 10,000 engineers on red alert as it expected to receive almost 250,000 calls for help from customers this week.

That is nearly 70,000 more calls than British Gas receives in an average week.

Meanwhile motorists in Scotland have been warned to prepare for difficult driving conditions on Thursday morning, with more snow forecast for much of the country.

The temporary runway closure had a knock-on effect at the airport

The Met Office issued amber warnings of snow in the Highlands, Central, Tayside, Fife, Strathclyde and Grampian regions, and yellow warnings of snow for Orkney, Shetland and Lothian and Borders.

Sleet and snow are expected to spread in the early hours after a cold night with widespread frost.

Forecasters said four to six inches of snow is likely to fall on levels above 1,300ft and two to four inches is expected on areas above 650ft.

Travel networks are likely to be disrupted, especially over the M8 corridor to the east of Glasgow, across Perthshire and over much of inland eastern Scotland.

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Autumn Statement: Fuel Duty Hike Is Scrapped

Autumn Statement's Important Bits

Updated: 3:48pm UK, Wednesday 05 December 2012

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

The Autumn Statement is what the Treasury likes to call a "fiscal event", the rough translation of which is that although this isn't the kind of tax-and-spend measure-fest we see in the spring Budgets, there are nonetheless plenty of measures to get one's head around.

So here, in roughly descending order of significance, are the key points from today: and their implication for the economy and for families around the UK.

1. The Government will miss its debt target

One of the two fiscal rules George Osborne set himself in 2010 was that by the end of this Parliamentary term (for example, between 2014/15 and 2015/16) total government debt should be falling, as a percentage of gross domestic product. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that he is on course to miss this target - that debt will only start falling the year after that.

However, rather than pledging to take action to meet the rule, the Chancellor has, intriguingly, said he will, instead, stick to his existing plans. While some might quibble that his existing plans involved meeting his targets, what this means in practice is that he will not impose extra austerity in the short term purely to meet this target.

It remains to be seen whether the Chancellor will, ultimately, manage to get the public finances back in such a state that he meets this rule. The OBR is, after all, merely making predictions about what will happen in a few years' time.

Nonetheless, the decision to ignore the target, for the time being, is an important one. It took the previous government ten years to miss their fiscal targets. This Chancellor has missed one of his in barely more than two.

The big question now is whether the markets construe this as a blow to the UK's fiscal credibility. The reaction from gilts markets has been relatively muted, with the interest rates charged on Britain's Government debt remaining close to 1.8%.

2. Slashed forecasts, and the threat of a triple dip

The OBR also cut its forecasts for economic growth sharply for this and the coming years. So whereas in March it expected the economy to expand by 0.8%, it now expects a contraction of 0.1%.

On top of this, it's also predicting that GDP - the broadest measure of the country's economic output - will shrink by 0.1% in the final quarter of the year.

Given that the generally-accepted definition of a recession is two successive quarters of contraction, this would put the UK within a whisker of an unprecedented triple-dip, just when it had bounced back from the double-dip earlier this year.

However, it is worth emphasising that the OBR believes it will only be one quarter of contraction, rather than two.

As far as the OBR is concerned (and this is something others are likely to dispute) the main reason for the lower growth is the impact of the euro crisis on the European economy, and the subsequent effect on Britain's trade with the EU.

That fits in with evidence that one of the main drags on GDP in recent quarters was trade - however some have argued that the Government's austerity policies may have been more of a drag on growth than had been previously anticipated.

3. A decade of crisis fiscal policy

This is the first opportunity the Treasury has had to plot its broad fiscal plans into 2017/18, and the upshot is yet another year of austerity.

Given that the crisis first hit in mid-2007 with the collapse of Northern Rock, followed by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy the following year, it means, in effect, that the post-crisis mopping-up operation will have lasted for at least a decade.

And the scale of the austerity in 2017/18 is not to be sniffed at: combined tax increases and spending cuts of £4.9bn in that year alone.

4. The giveaways

There were, of course, a few Christmas goodies in the Chancellor's bag, and unlike at the Budget most of them - save for extra capital spending - had been kept secret.

The tax-free personal allowance (the amount of salary every Briton can earn before paying any tax on it) will rise to £9,440 from next April - equivalent to an extra £47 of cash.

The Chancellor cancelled (not deferred) the 3p fuel tax rise due in January. And he also cut the main rate of corporation tax by 1 percentage point to 21% in 2014.

In broad terms, this will be a £2.27bn giveaway over this and the next three fiscal years. But that's then followed by a £5.2bn takeaway the following two years.

However, this excludes the effect of the following point.

5. 4G

The auction of the 4G spectrum, for the next generation of mobile phones, is forecast to bring in a whopping £3.5bn - even though it hasn't actually happened yet(!)

This will mean that money effectively flatters this year's fiscal figures, and allows the Government to claim that the overall deficit is coming down this year (rather than rising, as it would if the 4G proceeds were not included).

Some will consider this a fiddle. Although others will recall how much money Gordon Brown made from the 3G auction.

6. Cuts for the rich and the poor

In order to keep the public finances under at least some semblance of control, and to help the Chancellor meet his other fiscal target (more on which below), there will be further cuts and controls on spending.

Welfare bills will be fixed at 1% for three years on working age benefits and tax thresholds, raising an extra £3.5bn by 2015.

But this will be balanced out by measures targeting wealthier households: in particular the tax relief people can claim on pensions will be reduced. The lifetime pension pot will be reduced from £1.5m to £1.25m, while the annual allowance one can put into a pension scheme tax-free will drop from £50,000 to £40,000.

According to the Treasury this will only affect the top 2% of pension pots - so is aimed squarely at the wealthy. Although it isn't as deep a cut as had been expected: some thought the annual allowance would drop to £30,000.

On top of this, as announced on Tuesday, there will be an extra £5bn spent on capital investment projects, including new schools and, in London, the Northern Line extension of the London Underground. These will be paid for by money saved from government departments' budgets.

7. Deficit target met, with or without controversial QE switch

The Chancellor's second borrowing rule is that he needs to balance out the cyclically-adjusted budget (in other words, once you've taken account of the temporary fiscal impact of booms and busts) over five years.

This is a rolling target, rather than the static one incorporated into the debt rule, so it's marginally easier for the Chancellor to meet, provided he commits to tightening his accounts towards the end of that time horizon. And that is indeed what has happened this time around.

The structural deficit will indeed be eliminated within five years, according to the OBR.

This achievement threatened to be overshadowed by what many saw as a suspicious shift in cash from the Bank of England's accounts to the Treasury. The Bank was sitting on about £35bn of profits from its quantitative easing scheme: that now goes across to the Government's accounts.

However, the Treasury would have met his deficit target with or without this accounting change, the Chancellor said.

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AK-47 Shipment: British Man Gary Hyde Jailed

A British arms dealer who helped ship thousands of AK-47 assault rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition from China to Nigeria has been jailed for seven years.

Gary Hyde, 43, looked tearful as he was sentenced at London's Southwark Crown Court following his conviction for two counts of breaching UK trade controls and concealing criminal property.

Hyde, of Mask Lane, Newton on Derwent, near York, moved the weapons without a licence and hid more than £620,000 in commission payments.

The deal between the two countries' governments was lawful, but Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said middleman Hyde was caught out by his own greed.

He failed to apply for a licence to take part in the deal, fearing it would be refused, but was attracted by the "enormous profits" to be made, the judge said.

Hyde, who was supported in court by his family, legitimately ran and expanded the wholesale business York Guns to the point where it employed 20 staff in 2003.

He helped broker various arms deals including some for the British government.

But in 2006 he got involved in the deal between China and Nigeria which saw up to 40,000 AK-47s, 30,000 rifles and 10,000 9mm pistols go to the African nation along with 32 million rounds of ammunition.

Hyde was convicted after a retrial on two counts of becoming knowingly concerned in the movement of controlled goods between March 2006 and December 2007.

He was also found guilty of one count of concealing criminal property between March 2006 and December 2008 after he hid the profits in a bank in Liechtenstein.

Hyde, who was of previous good character and served as a special constable for seven years, was also reluctant to apply for a licence in case the UK authorities discovered his tax haven account and his "very substantial earnings", the judge said.

He told him: "You got carried away by the enormous profits that could be made elsewhere and, it would seem, in some less responsible company."

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Pregnant Kate: Hospital Admits Falling For Prank

Prank callers have managed to trick hospital staff treating the Duchess of Cambridge into revealing detailed information about her condition.

Australian radio DJs impersonating the Queen and Prince of Wales were given an update about Kate, who was admitted to London's King Edward VII on Monday with severe morning sickness.

Mel Greig and Michael Christian from Sydney's 2Day FM were transferred to a duty nurse who divulged details of how doctors were treating the duchess.

The hospital has said it "deplores" the stunt and will be conducting a review of its phone system.

As Prince William arrived to visit his wife as she spends her third day in hospital, St James's Palace declined to comment on the incident.

A spokesman for the hospital said: "King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes can confirm that an Australian radio station made a hoax call to the hospital in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Australian duo Mel Greig and Michael Christian have apologised

"This call was transferred through to a ward and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff. King Edward VII's Hospital deeply regrets this incident."

John Lofthouse, chief executive at King Edward VII's Hospital, said: "This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore. We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols."

Michael Christian has been posting congratulatory Tweets and reports of the prank from around the world on his Twitter page.

He tweeted: "Can't believe we got put through!"

The DJs and their radio station have since apologised - saying the hosts had "the best intentions".

Mel Greig and Michael Christian said: "We were very surprised that our call was put through, we thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents. 

Prince William visits his wife on her third day in hospital

"We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well."

In a statement, 2Day FM said: "2Day FM sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused by the inquiry to Kate's hospital, the radio segment was done with the best intentions and we wish Kate and her family all the best."

Knowingly or recklessly obtaining personal information without consent is an offence under Section 55 of Data Protection Act 1998, punishable by a fine of up to £5,000.

During the debate over UK press standards, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called for those guilty of obtaining personal information by deception - known as "blaggers" - to be jailed.

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Autumn Statement: The Key Points At A Glance

The main measures and forecasts from the Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement:

:: Most working age benefits, including Jobseeker's Allowance, will rise by 1% in each of the next three years. Changes to welfare "save £3.7bn by 2015/16". Child benefit to rise by 1% for two years from April 2014.

:: ISA limit raised to £11,520 and basic state pension to rise 2.5% from April. Public sector workers to see average 1% rise in earnings.

:: National pay arrangement in NHS and prison service to continue, and no changes to civil service arrangements, but greater freedom for schools to set pay in line with performance.

:: Will collect £7bn more in tax than the last Government to tackle "evasion" and loopholes. More resources (£77m) to ensure multinational firms "pay their fair share" and avoidance is reduced.

:: Fuel duty escalator "scrapped". Planned 3p a litre rise due in January is cancelled.

:: Income tax threshold increased by £235 in 2013. Means no tax paid on earnings under £9,440.

:: "Need to ask more of the better off": No new homes tax. From 2014/15 the pension lifetime pot relief will fall from £1.5m to £1.25m; annual allowance down from £50,000 to £40,000. This affects top 2% of pension pots.

:: Threshold for 40% rate of income tax to rise by 1% in 2014 and 2015 from £41,450 to £41,865 and then £42,285.

:: Corporation Tax rate cut by further 1% from April 2014.

:: The Bank Levy Rate will be increased to 0.130% next year.

:: Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount to increase by 1% over the same period, reaching £11,100 and Inheritance Tax nil-band rate to rise from £325,000 now to £329,000 in 2015/16.

:: £1bn more for road improvements - upgrading A1, A30, and M25. Funding guarantee for extension to Northern Line tube.

:: £600m more on scientific research infrastructure.

:: £1bn to expand good schools and build more.

:: The deficit has fallen by a quarter in "just two years". Forecast to fall this year to 6.9% of GDP. Borrowing forecast for 2012/13 is therefore £108bn. It will take one extra year to reach his debt target.

:: Office for Budget Responsibility now forecasts GDP growth -0.1% in 2012, blaming Eurozone crisis. Sees growth of 1.2% in 2013, 2% in 2014 and 2.3% in 2015. OBR expects jobless rate to peak at 8.3% (currently 7.9%).

:: Has delivered £12bn in Whitehall spending cuts. More on the way. Government department resource budgets reduced by 1% next year with schools and hospitals protected.

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