Artist Ovenden Jailed Over Child Sex Offences

Artist Graham Ovenden has been jailed after judges ruled his non-custodial sentence for child sex offences was "unduly lenient".

Court of Appeal judges sentenced the internationally-renowned painter to two years and three months in prison.

Ovenden, from Cornwall, abused children who posed for him in the 1970s and 1980s, and was convicted in April of six charges of indecency with a child and one of indecent assault relating to three girls.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, sitting with two other judges in London, quashed the suspended 12-month prison sentence the 70-year-old initially received and said Ovenden had not shown a "shred of remorse" for his victims

The judges also rejected Ovenden's application for permission to appeal the conviction, ruling that the verdicts were "safe".

When he was arrested the artist, whose youngest victim was just six, told police he had a "major reputation" for having "some of the best portraits of children in the last 200 years".

Ovenden claimed that his interest in young girls was artistic and not sexual - but that claim was rejected by the three judges.

Lord Thomas said the girls had "no understanding of the true purpose" behind what Ovenden was doing.

He said: "There was no doubt that his purpose was sexual. There is no doubt that he had a sexual interest in children."

When considering the appropriate sentence the court had to have regard to the fact that the only mitigation Ovenden had was his former good character and his age.

Lord Thomas added that against that "there are a very large number of aggravating factors", including the "very serious impact on the victims, magnified by the way in which he had grossly manipulated them and degraded them by the photographs he had taken".

Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC MP, decided to refer the 70-year-old's case to the Court of Appeal in July.

Speaking after the hearing, the Attorney General said: "Graham Ovenden committed terrible sexual offences against vulnerable young girls who were in his charge and ought to have felt safe. He manipulated them and abused his position of trust.

"It is right that sexual crimes, whether committed many years ago or more recently, should be punished appropriately.

"Today the court affirmed this and sent a clear message that people who have behaved in this way in the past will face the consequences through the courts."

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Sir Menzies Campbell To Quit At 2015 Election

Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell is to stand down from Parliament at the general election scheduled for May 2015.

Sir Menzies - known to all at Westminster as "Ming" - said he had written to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to inform him of his intention.

The 72-year-old has served as MP for North East Fife since 1987 and was leader of the Lib Dems from 2006-07.

Sir Menzies said: "It's been an enormous privilege to have been an MP for 26 years and to represent such a wonderful constituency as North East Fife. My wife and I have made many friends and have been supported by constituents of all political persuasions and none.

"It is always a regret to begin the process of retiring from the House of Commons but I believe now is the time to start. I have written to Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, and to Harry Wills, chairman of the North East Fife constituency party."

Sir Menzies (centre) in 2006 when he was elected party leader

In his letter to Mr Clegg, Sir Menzies said he had "reached the conclusion that now would be the right time to step down and to allow someone else to have the opportunity to serve the people of North East Fife".

He said he would maintain his links with the constituency through positions including his chancellorship of St Andrews University.

He told Mr Clegg, who replaced him as leader in 2007: "Between now and 2015 I will maintain my efforts to be as effective a representative of my constituents and their interests as I can and to the best of my ability support yourself, our party and its interests."

A barrister and former athlete, who held the UK 100m record and competed in the 1964 Olympic Games, Sir Menzies entered Parliament as a Liberal MP on his fifth attempt in 1987, and became a Liberal Democrat on the party's creation the following year.

He served on his party's frontbench - most prominently as foreign affairs spokesman - for the majority of his parliamentary career, but his stint as leader following Charles Kennedy's resignation was marked by poor poll ratings and he stepped down after just 19 months.

He has most recently served on the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee.

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Mid Staffs Trust Admits Failings Over Death

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust has admitted breaching health and safety law over the death of a diabetic in-patient.

The scandal-plagued hospital trust pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of Gillian Astbury, who lapsed into a fatal diabetic coma while being treated at Stafford Hospital in April 2007.

She died after staff failed to give her the insulin she needed.

The Trust admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to properly manage and organise hospital services, including its systems for record-keeping, patient information and communication between staff members.

The prosecution at Stafford Magistrates' Court was brought by the Health and Safety Executive.

It came three years after an inquest jury ruled that Mrs Astbury's death was contributed to by low staffing levels and a systemic failure to provide adequate nursing facilities.

The inquest also concluded the failure to administer insulin to the 66-year-old amounted to a gross failure to provide basic care.

Mrs Astbury, from Hednesford, Staffordshire, died in the early hours of April 11, 2007, while being treated for fractures to her arm and pelvis.

Stafford Hospital has previously been the subject of several highly critical reports, including a full public inquiry, which identified "routine" neglect of patients between 2005 and 2009.

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MI5 Boss Warns Of Growing UK Terror Threat

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

Britain will face at least one attempted major terror attack every year for the next few years, the head of MI5 has warned.

In his first speech since taking over the Security Service in April, Andrew Parker told a private audience at the Royal United Services Institute: "Since 2000, we have seen serious attempts at major acts of terrorism in this country typically once or twice a year.

"That feels to me, for the moment, unlikely to change."

Among the reasons for this are the increasing numbers of Britons going to Syria to try to become jihadists.

In his off-camera speech, Mr Parker said: "A growing proportion of our casework now has some link to Syria, mostly concerning individuals from the UK who have travelled to fight there or who aspire to do so.

"Al Nusrah and other extremist Sunni groups there aligned with al Qaeda aspire to attack Western countries."

Hundreds of Britons are thought to have joined fighting in Syria

More than any recent conflict, Syria has attracted would-be fighters from the UK.

Sky News understands that the number of individuals involved over the last three years is in the low hundreds.

The fear is some could return to the UK even more radicalised.

Mr Parker repeated a warning made by his predecessor, Jonathan Evans, saying: "It remains the case that there are several thousand Islamist extremists here who see the British people as a legitimate target."

He also mentioned the growing fears about terrorism in Northern Ireland after several incidents and the threat of more.

"Rejecting the political process in Northern Ireland, these ragged remnants of a bygone age are in a cul-de-sac of pointless violence and crime with little community support," he said.

"We will continue to work with the police to put these thugs and killers in front of the courts."

He then turned to the subject of how to combat these threats and the use of technology.

Mr Parker alluded to information leaked by Edward Snowden

When former CIA contractor Edward Snowden leaked details about surveillance tactics, it is thought he inflicted massive damage on several spy agencies, including Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

One source said some of the things leaked by Snowden amounted to "an instruction booklet on how to evade surveillance".

This explains why Mr Parker appears to have entered the debate about The Guardian newspaper's publication of some of Snowden's material.

The Guardian was not mentioned by name, but in his speech Mr Parker said: "It causes enormous damage to make public the reach and limits of GCHQ techniques.

"Such information hands the advantage to the terrorists. It is the gift they need to evade us and strike at will."

There are also passages explaining the thinking of MI5.

He accepts there are choices to be made about how and whether communications data is retained, but concludes: "We cannot work without tools."

The language used is temperate, but behind it you sense a passionate argument by a man who understands that there are sections of public opinion which deeply mistrust the security services. 

He asks if it should be accepted "that terrorists should have means of communication that they can be confident are beyond the sight of MI5 or GCHQ acting with proper legal warrant. Does anyone actually believe that?"

It is for Parliament to decide the powers that MI5, MI6, and GCHQ should have, including access to the email of people they suspect of wrongdoing.

That is an ongoing debate which will be revisited when the heads of the three services give evidence to the Intelligence Select Committee next month.

David Cameron has given his full support to the controversial speech, with a No 10 spokesman saying: "The Prime Minister thinks it was an excellent speech."

He also supported Mr Parker's suggestion that intelligence leaks, and their publication, helped terrorists undermined the spy agencies efforts to keep people safe.

In a statement a Guardian News & Media spokesperson said: "A huge number of people - from President Obama to the US Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper - have now conceded that the Snowden revelations have prompted a debate which was both necessary and overdue.

"The President has even set up a review panel and there have been vigorous discussions in the US Congress and throughout Europe. Such a debate is only worthwhile if it is informed. That is what journalism should do."

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Great White Shark That Couldn't 'Seal' The Deal

For a heart-stopping moment a seal was inches from being crushed in the jaws of a great white shark off the South African coast.

But the plucky creature evaded a gory death after balancing on the shark's snout and slipping back into the sea.

The death-defying moment was captured by wildlife photographer David Baz Jenkins.

Jenkins, 41, from Dublin, said a colony of seals were making their way back to Seal Island after feeding out at sea when the shark moved in.

The seal makes his great escape. Pic: David Baz Jenkins/Caters

Seal Island, in False Bay, is home to a huge number of cape fur seals whose main predator is the great white.

This seal may have been lucky but hundreds of pups fall prey to shark attacks every year.

Great whites can be up to 20ft (6m) long and weigh up to 5,000lbs (2,268kg).

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Mexico: 13 Police Held In Kidnap Gang Swoop

Mexican authorities have arrested 13 federal police officers who were allegedly part of a kidnap and murder gang that operated in the resort of Acapulco.

The officers were detained along with five civilians - four men and a woman - who also allegedly killed some of the kidnap victims.

The gang is thought to have been involved in seven murders and four kidnappings.

The suspects were arrested on the outskirts of Acapulco after an anonymous tip, the Mexican government's national security spokesman, Eduardo Sanchez said.

"Investigations confirmed these individuals committed crimes mainly in the port of Acapulco," said Mr Sanchez, speaking in Mexico City.

"They are suspected of committing crimes against health, organised crime, homicide, kidnapping, carrying weapons used exclusively by the Armed Forces, among others.

"(Previous arrests) led to the discovery of ... graves in the hill of El Veladero in the municipality of Acapulco where three bodies were found."

The Pacific coastal tourist resort of Acapulco, which lies in the western state of Guerrero, has been hit by a wave of violence in recent years.

It is now one of Mexico's most violent cities with a murder rate of 77 homicides per 100,000 people.

The federal police have suffered various high-profile embarrassments in recent years.

In June last year a shoot-out between federal police and corrupt officers at Mexico City's airport resulted in three deaths.

A few months later 14 federal police were charged with attempted murder after opening fire on a car carrying two CIA agents outside Mexico City.

President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in December, has vowed to end the blood-letting by targeting crimes such as kidnapping and extortion.

Guerrero is one of the most dangerous states in Mexico with 86 reported kidnappings in the first eight months of this year - more than in the whole of 2011 and 2012, according to official figures.

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Lampedusa Tragedy: Barroso And Letta Heckled

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta have been barracked during a visit to Lampedusa where a boat carrying African asylum seekers caught fire and sank, killing up to 350 people.

Residents of the remote Italian island have long complained to the EU that they have been left alone to deal with the thousands of migrants who come ashore each year from Africa and the Middle East.

Both Mr Barroso and Mr Letta were booed and jeered by protesting islanders who shouted "disgrace" and "killers".

Up to 500 people were on the boat when it sank

"They should be ashamed of themselves. They should solve this humanitarian problem." one protester said.

Another added: "We've been living with this for 20 years. We've had enough of death. These deaths are on the conscience of Italian and EU politicians."

Mr Barroso pledged Italy would receive an additional 30 million euros (£25m) in EU funds to help improve standards at its immigrant holding centres following last Thursday's tragedy.

And Mr Letta said that Italy would hold a state funeral for the migrants who died after their boat capsized.

The coffins of the victims in an airport hangar in Lampedusa

They visited the airport hangar where the coffins of the dead have been laid out.

"That image of hundreds of coffins will never get out of my mind," said Mr Barroso.

The pair also visited the island's refugee centre which houses around 1,000 migrants, but only has 250 beds.

Some 30,000 migrants have flocked to Italy so far this year. An estimated 17,000 to 20,000 have died while crossing the Mediterranean during the past 20 years on overcrowded fishing boats or rubber dinghies, seeking a better life in Europe.

The Tunisian man suspected of being the captain of the refugee boat

Eritrea, Somalia and Syria are the main countries of origin and the majority of arrivals are on Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost point which is closer to north Africa than to the Italian mainland.

During Wednesday's visit, Mr Barroso also promised to work "tirelessly" to implement an EU-wide asylum policy and to beef up Frontex - the EU's border patrol agency - to prevent future tragedies.

Meanwhile, Italian authorities have detained a 35-year-old Tunisian man suspected of being the captain of the boat, from which only 155 refugees are believed to have survived.

He faces charges of aiding illegal immigration and multiple counts of homicide.

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Passenger Lands Plane After Pilot Falls Ill

The pilot of a light aircraft who fell ill forcing his passenger to perform an emergency landing at Humberside Airport has died overnight.

During the flight on Tuesday evening, the pilot made a distress call when he became so sick he was unable to continuing flying the light aircraft.

Humberside Police confirmed the pilot died later that night but do not yet know his cause of death.

Two flight instructors were called in to talk to the passenger from the ground while he took control of the plane, an airport spokesman said.

The man had very limited flying experience and had never landed an aircraft before.

Despite this, he managed to successfully land at the North Lincolnshire airport just after 7.30pm.

The Aircraft seen today

Roy Murray, one of the instructors who helped coach the passenger down, said the man completed the landing with no lighting inside the cabin.

"I didn't want to upset him and tell him to move all round the cockpit (trying to locate the light switches), all I was interested in was keeping him flying the aeroplane straight and level."

Mr Murray, who has taught flying for 30 years, said he's never come across a situation like this before.

"When I think about it now that lad did extremely well, no lights, in the dark, no experience, flying a strange aeroplane in a strange area, he must have been nerve-wracked as well as us."

The man took three passes over the runway before landing on the fourth approach.

Mr Murray says the man – who he knows only as John – kept his composure and was able to land the plane safely.

The plane took off from Sandtoft Airfield

"He was very calm and he followed all our instructions and he did a beautiful landing," he said.

"I've never met him, I'd like to meet him, obviously just to say 'Well done, lad. Together we did it'."

Police have not yet released the name or age of the pilot who died. His family has been informed of his death.

The light aircraft took off from Sandtoft Airfield, near Doncaster, for training with one passenger.

The man and pilot were the only two people on board the aircraft.

Humberside Airport praised the response of emergency services in a tweet: "We are pleased to say that the incident that started a few hours ago has been successfully dealt with. Great response from emergency svs!" the airport said.

Flights coming into the airport were delayed while the plane was moved from the runway.

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Madeleine McCann Police Probe Possible Suspect

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

Scotland Yard is to appeal for information about a new suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Detectives are to issue an e-fit image of a man seen near the holiday apartment from where the then three-year-old vanished in 2007.

Her parents Kate and Gerry McCann have been shown the image and say they are "greatly encouraged" by the progress of the Metropolitan Police, who have effectively taken over the hunt for the missing girl.

The officer in charge of the case, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, is expected next week to give details of the suspect's movements around the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the day Madeleine disappeared.

But sources said police will not know how significant the suspect is until he is identified, traced and interviewed.

Kate and Gerry McCann believe their daughter is still alive

He is one of 41 individuals police believe are "people of interest" they need to talk to.

The image of the possible new suspect is expected to form a crucial part of fresh appeals at the beginning of next week.

Police will give some idea of what witnesses have said about his behaviour on Monday.

They will be making an appeal for new witnesses to come forward if they recall seeing him around the apartment six years ago, or recognise him now, from the detailed image.

The Metropolitan Police now has a team of six Portuguese detectives based in Faro who are carrying out inquiries on its behalf.

The Portuguese investigation is officially closed but authorities there are backing the Scotland Yard inquiry and officers from both countries will work together in pursuing new leads.

Madeleine's parents have said they remain "optimistic" of finding their daughter and will not accept she is dead until they are presented with clear evidence.

Her disappearance is to be the subject of a Crimewatch appeal on Monday to try to produce new witnesses in the case.

It will also be aired in Holland and Germany - where many tourists in the Algarve come from.

There appears to be some doubt as to whether it will be shown in Portugal.

Former Met detective Peter Kirkham told Sky News officers were likely to get "hundreds, if not thousands" of phone calls off the back of the world-wide coverage the television appeal would receive.

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Japan: Leak Contaminates Fukushima Workers

Six workers at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have been doused with highly radioactive water after wrongly disconnecting a pipe.

The accident sent toxic water spilling on to them and the entire floor of the facility which houses a set of three units designed for water treatment. 

The workers were wearing face masks with filters, protective hazmat suits and raingear, and their exposure is believed minor but still under investigation, said Yoshimi Hitosugi, spokesman for operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco).

The workers were part of an 11-member team, and the remaining five were not splashed, he said. They managed to reattach the pipe later.

Water on the ground as workers work on clearing the leak

The accident is latest in a string of mishaps. A week earlier, workers overfilled a storage tank without fully checking water levels, and caused a leak of 430 litres (113 gallons) of contaminated water which is thought to have run into the sea.

Tepco has been battling to contain radioactive water since the plant suffered triple meltdowns and hydrogen explosions following a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

In the latest incident, the company said a worker mistakenly detached a pipe connected to a treatment system which removes salt from the hundreds of tonnes of cooling water Tepco pumps over the melted fuel in wrecked reactors.

Tepco said seven tonnes of water were spilled in Wednesday's incident but was contained within the site.

The area where the latest Fukushima leak occurred

Masayuki Ono, Tepco's general manager, said: "At the moment we only have provisional figures, but we think the amount of water that leaked was about seven tonnes.

"We have confirmed the leak has stopped within the building and has not seeped out into the wider area."

The accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 130 miles (220 kilometres) north of Tokyo, are adding to a crisis no one seems to know how to contain, and stirring doubt over Tepco's abilities to carry out a complex cleanup widely expected to take decades.

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