BAE Gets US Deal For 'Anti-Insurgent' Missile

UK defence giant BAE Systems has been chosen to further develop its 'anti-insurgent' missile system for the US military.

The Naval Air Systems Command said it intends to enter into sole source negotiations with the US subsidiary of the British firm to develop the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II).

The project expands integration into the arsenal used on aircraft, including the A-10 'Warthog'.

The existing semi-active laser-guided APKWS system is designed as a cheaper alternative to the Hellfire missile, at around a third of the cost - $30,000 (£17,000).

The Hellfire has become renowned for use on Predator and Reaper drones and was originally designed to target armoured vehicles.

The APKWS is designed to destroy lightly armoured and "soft" vehicles, moving or stationary, in urban locations.

It can be armed with high explosives or flechettes - steel darts - in the warhead.

Earlier this year trials were carried out firing the missile from the A-10 and the new missiles hit within inches of their target.

The MkI version has been used in Afghanistan against insurgents (pic: USMC)

It is based on a 2.75 in (70mm) rocket with guidance 'canard' lead fins, and the new version has improved laser control for accurate targeting.

The original development plan for the precision weapon began in 2002 and the first version has been in full production for three years and used in war zones such as Afghanistan.

It has been fired from more than a dozen aircraft types and been sold to US allies including Jordan, for use on its airborne gunships.

BAE Systems programme manager Joe Tiano told Sky News: "Our APKWS laser-guided rocket has a long history of success in theatre and in testing on multiple platforms including the A-10, and we look forward to exploring additional opportunities for integration on the A-10."

The sole source award to BAE Systems sees a continuation of its rehabilitation in the eyes of US authorities.

In 2010 it pleaded guilty in a US court to making false statements over foreign corruption, along with arms export and trafficking violations.

It was fined $400m (£230m), which at the time was one of the largest criminal fines ever levied in the US against a company for business-related violations.

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Elderly Murder Victim Died From Head Injuries

An elderly woman whose body was found hidden inside her home died from head injuries suffered during a violent attack, police have revealed.

West Midlands Police said a man and a woman aged 32 and 24 were still being questioned about the murder of Cynthia Beamond.

The 80-year-old's body was discovered on Sunday following an extensive search of her semi-detached home in Howley Grange, Halesowen.

Her family had reported her missing two days before.

As well as establishing the cause of Mrs Beamond's death, detectives have now traced her T-registration Vauxhall Astra.

The vehicle was found in the Druids Heath area of Birmingham shortly before 3pm on Tuesday following a report from a member of the public.

Detective Superintendent Mark Payne, who is leading the investigation, said: "The public have been a great help so far but we still need to know where that car has been between Friday lunchtime and yesterday afternoon.

"We continue to question two suspects over Cynthia's death and significant inquiries continue after her car was recovered."

Mr Payne said officers have kept the family of Mrs Beamond, who lived alone, fully updated of the developments in the case.

He added: "Shocking crimes such as these are incredibly rare and we hope that local people will be reassured that we are doing all we can to find those responsible."

Anyone who can help establish the movements of Mrs Beamond's car is asked to contact police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Ebola Outbreak: State Of Emergency 'Needed'

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

The doctor who first identified the deadly Ebola virus has warned the outbreak in West Africa is now so bad that a "state of emergency" should be declared.

Professor Peter Piot told Sky News that the disease, which kills up to 90% of patients, now affects such a wide area that it will be "difficult" to bring under control - and it will spread further without "very, very strict vigilance."

Prof Piot, now Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, helped to bring to an end to the first known outbreak of Ebola in Zaire in 1976.

There have since been more than 20 outbreaks in Central and West Africa. But the current epidemic affecting Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone was "unprecedented" he said.

Professor Peter Piot: 'A local problem is now a regional crisis'

The virus causes a high fever, organ failure and severe bleeding. Contact with any bodily fluid can transmit the virus. There is no treatment.

Prof Piot said: "We have waited too long. In cases like Ebola it is better to be accused of overacting than underestimating the situation.

"It is far more difficult to contain an epidemic that involves quarantine of people, isolation of patients and tracing their contacts when it has reached big urban populations.

More than 400 people have been killed across three countries

"This has turned from a local problem to a regional crisis.

"Even countries that are not yet affected by Ebola may become affected. Mobility of people including patients and sometimes cadavers is high across borders and I think it's time for declaring a state of emergency."

Professor Piot said the World Health Organisation must engage with community leaders to explain to local populations the importance of isolating victims in hospital to prevent further transmission of the virus.

He said burial practices in which the infected body is washed by unprotected relatives must also cease.

"In theory Ebola is very easy to stop with gloves, soap, isolating patients, and not reusing needles and syringes," he said. "But in practice it is about people and their beliefs.

"If you think that someone dies of witchcraft or that western medicine is at the origin, that is something that must be overcome."

Professor Piot also urged medical authorities to try using anti-viral drugs to treat patients. Tests on infected monkeys have suggested the drugs work to some extent against Ebola.

Professor Piopt suggests using anti-viral drugs to treat Ebola

"This is the time to try them," he said.

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Africa Battles To Stop Deadly Spread Of Ebola

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, In Liberia

The worst Ebola outbreak ever is spreading and will almost certainly extend across West Africa unless there is cross-country co-operation and urgent international assistance.

The porous borders between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has meant the disease is not being contained and now risks spreading even further.

Health workers at the epicentre, where the borders of the three countries meet, have made an urgent appeal through Sky News for immediate international help to try to control the virus.

The latest outbreak has spread to three countries

Philip Azumah, the Foya district health officer, said: "We need help now, or the virus will spread and kill more people."

It is difficult to determine exactly how many people have already died from the disease given the cross-border contamination and lack of accounting.

But it is already clear there are many more deaths than any previous outbreak.

Aid organisation Doctors Without Borders has already said it is the largest outbreak on record, with the highest number of deaths.

Across the three countries, more than 400 have died in this latest outbreak, with no sign of the disease being halted.

And for the first time the disease has spread to highly populated areas including cities such as Guinea's capital, Conakry.

At one of the high-risk infection centres set up in Foya, in Liberia, the medics insisted we, like them, took extreme precautions.

This included wearing two layers of protective head-to-toe clothing featuring one waterproof all-in-one outfit, face and head masks, double gloves, thick plastic aprons, sturdy goggles and rubber boots.

Among the victims was a nurse who contracted Ebola after caring for a person who later died from the virus.

Nurse Elizabeth Smith was lying on a bed next to another nurse who had contracted Ebola from the same patient they had both treated.

But Ms Smith was significantly weaker than her co-worker. She did not raise her head as we entered and her bed was soaked in blood.

Neither woman had realised they were treating a patient with Ebola, so had taken none of the precautions their colleagues were now taking.

Two of them sprayed Ms Smith with disinfectant, down her legs, her feet, her hands and arms as they stood arms-length away in their head-to-toe protective clothing and visors. Gingerly, they took her arms and helped her to her feet, before escorting her down the tent corridor to the high-risk area.

Elizabeth Smith was too weak to raise her head

Here, every patient is a confirmed Ebola case and the odds are that 90% of them will die.

The frightening deadliness of Ebola, plus the ignorance around it and the lack of a cure, has thrown the medical staff in this area into a panic.

Francis Forndia, administrator for Foya-Borma Hospital, where medical staff have died after treating victims, told us his workers simply fled after nurses began dying.

"It is hard to get them to return, but we have managed to persuade some to come back by explaining to them how needed they are," he said.

Mr Azumah is co-ordinating the health battle against Ebola in this area. He tells me the first recent outbreak in Liberia was in March, when an infected woman travelled to Foya from Guinea.

She died two days after being admitted to the sole and tiny hospital in Foya. By the time of her death, she had infected eleven people in hospital alone.

Two of them were nurses who went on to die. The remaining nine somehow managed to survive.

Officials say cultural traditions have helped spread the virus

Then Liberia went a solid three weeks without an incident and believed they were clear - until the end of May.

This time, a woman from Sierra Leone, probably out of fear, gave misleading information about where she had come from.

She told investigators she was local, which was true, but did not mention she had in fact spent some time in an infected area of Sierra Leone.

This time the consequences were much more widespread. She had infected a stream of people, six of whom died.

They are still trying to trace all those she may have been in contact with.

There have since been other outbreaks in Voinjamma and the Liberian capital, Monrovia, while Guinea and Sierra Leone continue to register deaths, too.

Mr Azumah said: "In our culture, it is the habit to wash the dead body, look after it for a week in the home, kiss and touch it, even eat meals with the dead body - and we believe this has led to the virus spreading.

"Also people are keeping the illnesses and deaths secret if they suspect Ebola."

By alerting the authorities to possible Ebola, people risk being ostracised by their communities.

There is even a fear among these poverty stricken communities that the visiting health workers are spreading the virus.

But what seems significant is that, in Liberia at least, one of the poorest countries in the world, they are largely coping with this virulent disease on their own - with very little outside help evident.

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'Superhuman' Bends Car Door To Save Driver

A man has used his "superhuman strength" to bend the door of a burning car and pull the driver to safety.

Robert Renning was driving along the I-35 near New Brighton, Minnesota, when he noticed another vehicle on fire.

He flagged down the motorist, Michael Johannes, but as he rushed to help, the electronic locks and windows on the other car failed.

As smoke filled the car, Mr Johannes frantically tried to kick out the windows.

Firefighters extinguish the blaze on the I-35. Pic: Minnesota State Patrol

When he was unable to free himself from the burning wreck, Mr Renning grabbed the top of the door and pulled it towards the ground, causing glass in the window to shatter.

He then grabbed hold of Mr Johannes and pulled him clear of the flames.

Trooper Zachary Hill, of Minnesota State Patrol, said: "He did an extraordinary deed, bending a locked car door of a burning car in half to extricate a trapped person.

The car was completely destroyed in the fire. Pic: Minnesota State Patrol

"He deserves any and all commendation for his extraordinary life-saving measure that kept another man from burning alive."

Speaking to the Minnesota Star Tribune, he said Mr Renning had shown "superhuman strength", adding: "I don't think I could take a crowbar and fold the door like he did."

Mr Johannes suffered only slight smoke inhalation and minor cuts from where he was pulled through the window.

Mr Renning, who was unhurt, told the Star Tribune he had "no clue" how he managed to prize open the door.

"I'm just a slightly overweight Air Force First Sergeant, for crying out loud," he joked.

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'Traumatised Pistorius At Risk Of Suicide'

Oscar Pistorius has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and needs to continue being treated to avoid the risk of suicide, a court has heard.

The findings of a psychiatric report have been read out during the athlete's murder trial in Pretoria.

It ruled Pistorius is not mentally ill, but has been "severely traumatised" by the events of Valentine's Day last year.

Pistorius has no history of mental instability or violence, said his defence lawyer Barry Roux, who read out sections of the report.

The athlete's relationship with Ms Steenkamp was loving and normal, he added.

Earlier, Pistorius's manager, Peet van Zyl, was challenged by State Prosecutor Gerrie Nel over his assertion Ms Steenkamp was the first girlfriend the athlete asked to accompany him on trips abroad.

An email from Pistorius to Mr van Zyl was read out by Mr Nel, in which the athlete sent his manager a copy of ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor's passport.

Mr van Zyl said he could not remember receiving such a message.

The trial was adjourned while Pistorius underwent tests on his mental state

A letter from Pistorius to Ms Taylor in which he asked for her to go to the 2012 Olympics in London with him was read out by Mr Nel.

It said: "That is not fair on you, you have never given me a reason not to trust you.

"When I asked you to join me, I was so excited to tell you. I had asked Peet to find you a ticket last week.

"I don't even feel like going to London if you cannot go with me."

Pistorius would cower at fireworks, the court heard

Again, Mr van Zyl said he did not know if Pistorius asked for a ticket for the Olympics for Ms Taylor.

When asked how much he knew about Pistorius's relationships with his girlfriends, Mr van Zyl said: "I was not part of Mr Pistorius's private life."

Sports medicine academic Professor Wayne Derman, who worked with the South African Olympic team, described Pistorius as being "hyper vigilant", scanning his environment and cowering when he heard fireworks.

He told the court the levels of stress, anxiety and depression are greater in disabled athletes, and it is possible for them to have a heightened "fight or flight" response.

Pistorius leaves court at the end of another day of evidence

The last communication Professor Derman had with the athlete was early in February 2013, when Pistorius told him he was suffering from an upper-respiratory infection.

Professor Derman told him to go to a pharmacy, and added: "I asked him how life was treating him after the competition and he responded 'he was lying next to the most amazing woman (Ms Steenkamp)'."

After a lengthy debate and a break for lunch, Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled an email from Sue Kent, a disabled massage therapist at London 2012, should not be allowed as evidence.

Pistorius denies murdering Ms Steenkamp

In the message she said it was important people realised Pistorius would have had a heightened "fight or flight" response before the shooting.

Pistorius denies murdering Ms Steenkamp, claiming he shot her after mistaking her for an intruder.

The trial continues.

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Clashes Erupt As Teen Found Dead In Jerusalem

Palestinian protesters have clashed with police in Israel after the discovery of the body of an Arab teenager who is suspected to have been killed in retribution for the deaths of three Israeli youths.

Sky News' Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros said violence erupted in the Arab suburb of Shuafat in Jerusalem after news of the discovery spread.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for calm on all sides as video footage showed protesters throwing rocks at police who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Special forces have been sent in and all roads in the area have been closed.

The body is believed to be that of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khudair, 16, who was reported missing in the early hours of the morning.

Violence started after reports a Palestinian youth was abducted

Witnesses said they saw him being forced into a vehicle outside a supermarket in the Shuafat area.

Israeli police are yet to formally the identity of the body, which was found in the Jerusalem Forest in West Jerusalem.

Israel's Ynet website reported that it was charred and showed signs of violence.

Palestinian news reports have blamed Israeli settlers for the abduction.

One Israeli security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said officials suspect the youth was killed in retribution for the deaths of three Israeli teenagers whose bodies were found in the West Bank on Monday.

Police are investigating whether the body was that of the missing teen

Israel has accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas of abducting and killing Gilad Shaar, 16, Eyal Yifrach, 19, and Naftali Frenkel, 16.

They went missing while hitchhiking home from the Jewish seminaries where they studied near Hebron.

Naftali Frenkel's family has spoken out against acts of retribution.

His uncle, Yisahi Frenkel, said: "If the Arab youth was murdered because of nationalistic motives then this is a horrible and horrendous act.

The three Israeli teens were buried on Tuesday

"There is no difference between (Arab) blood and (Jewish) blood. Murder is murder. There is no forgiveness or justification for any murder."

Prime Minister Netanyahu has issued a statement urging all sides "not to take the law into their own hands".

Overnight police in Jerusalem arrested 47 Israelis overnight who attended a hardline "anti-Arab" protest in the city. Chants of "death to Arabs" were heard among the several hundred protesters.

Mr Netanyahu had earlier pledged to find those responsible for the Israeli youths' deaths.

Speaking to reporters, he said: "Whoever was involved in the kidnapping and the murder will bear the consequences. We will neither rest nor slow down until we reach the last of them and it does not matter where they will try to hide."

Jewish youths mourn next to the graves of the three boys

Mr Netanyahu also warned Israel's response would include stepping up military activity in Hamas-controlled Gaza if rocket fire from the territory continues.

"The Israeli Defence Force has been active in recent days against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, and here as well we are still active," he said.

"If need be, we will expand the operation as much as is needed."

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Madeleine Suspect Quizzed For Second Day

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 8:10pm UK, Monday 30 June 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

:: June 11 - Police begin to search an area between Praia da Luz and the town of Lagos behind a water treatment plant. The search of the scrubland site was later wound down.

:: June 30 - The British team return to Portugal and plan to speak to a key witness and several suspects the following day.

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Paedophile Claim Dossier 'Handled Properly'

Historic Paedophile Allegations

Updated: 2:24pm UK, Wednesday 02 July 2014

The Home Office has published the executive summary of an independent review it commissioned into the handling of information it received about organised child sex abuse between 1979 and 1999.

The report concluded the Home Office had acted "appropriately".

It was released as Leon Brittan said he had asked officials to "look carefully" at a dossier presented to him about alleged paedophile activity at Westminster, when he was Home Secretary in the 1980s.

A copy of the executive summary is published below.

Executive Summary

1.1. In February 2013 the Home Office Permanent Secretary commissioned an Independent Review of all Home Office files from 1979 to 1999 to identify any information received about organised child sex abuse. An experienced investigator from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is leading the Review with additional oversight provided by HMRC's Director of Criminal Investigation.

1.2. The Independent Investigator has produced an Interim Report based on the examination of over 400 Home Office files and a targeted search for material directly relevant to contacts on child abuse between the late Geoffrey Dickens MP and the Home Office. The findings will be updated if the Review identifies additional relevant material in the ongoing wider search of Home Office files which is expected to be completed by June 2013.

1.3. The Independent Review has confirmed that the Home Office did receive information from Mr Dickens in November 1983 and in January 1984 about alleged child abuse. Copies of the material have not been retained but a Home Office file contains a copy letter dated 20th March 1984 from the Home Secretary in response to Mr Dickens. The letter confirms that the information was considered at the time and that any matters requiring investigation were referred to the Police.

1.4. The letter is not suitable for publication as it contains details of one case of alleged child abuse from which it would be possible to identify the victim. However, the following extract explains how the information which Mr Dickens provided was handled at the time.

"Dear Geoff,

You drew my attention to a number of allegations concerning paedophilia when you called here on 23 November and in subsequent letters.

I am now able to tell you that, in general terms, the view of the Director of Public Prosecutions is that two of the letters you forwarded could form the basis for enquiries by the police and they are now being passed to the appropriate authorities. In other cases there either seems to be inadequate evidence to pursue prosecution, for example the lady who wrote about PIE (Paedophile Information Exchange) advertising but did not secure any example of the material complained of, or they have already been dealt with in some way by the courts or the police."

1.5. Mr Dickens was a robust campaigner on child protection issues and used Parliamentary Privilege to name alleged offenders if he believed appropriate action was not being taken. He challenged his own Government on child protection issues in Parliament and in the media when he disagreed with policies or decisions. The Independent Review has found no evidence of Mr Dickens expressing dissatisfaction about the action taken in respect of the information he had passed on.

1.6. On 17th March 1986 in his response to a debate in Parliament about the use of Parliamentary Privilege, and referring to information he had received about alleged child abuse, Mr Dickens said:

"I always sent the files to the Home Office, which investigated the cases for me, and in many cases to the chief constables concerned."

1.7. On 31st March 1987 during his speech in a Parliamentary debate on the admissibility of video evidence in court proceedings Mr Dickens said:

"I should like to place on record my thanks to the Home Office and the departments within the Home Office for following up the many cases that I keep sending to it. I should also like to thank the Attorney-General. They have been very helpful and a strength to me in my campaigns."

1.8. Full details of these statements are publicly available via www.parliament.uk in Hansard reports of Parliamentary business.

1.9. The Independent Investigator's Interim Report and a full copy of the relevant Home Office file have been passed to the Metropolitan Police Service for information in relation to their current investigations of allegations of historic child abuse.

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Andy Murray Out Of Wimbledon In Straight Sets

Defending champion Andy Murray has crashed out of Wimbledon, losing in straight sets to Grigor Dimitrov.

The Briton lost the quarter-final 6-1 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 to the Bulgarian 11th seed - who had never previously made it to the semi-finals of a grand slam tournament.

As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge looked on from the Royal Box, Murray won only one game in the first set before being narrowly defeated in a second set tie-break.

The pair shake hands at the end of the match

He looked a beaten man at points during the third set and Dimitrov, whose girlfriend is Russian player Maria Sharapova, wrapped the game up after little more than two hours.

It comes just a year after Murray became the first Briton to win the Wimbledon singles title since Fred Perry in 1936.

Speaking after the match, Murray said he was "disappointed" with his performance.

"It wasn't a great day," he said.

Fans show their support on 'Murray Mound'

"The start wasn't good enough. He played a very solid game and made very few mistakes. I just wish I'd played a little bit better and made it difficult for him at times.

"Today just wasn't my day."

Dimitrov said he was "excited" to have made it through to his first grand slam semi-final.

"I'm just happy to get through that match in straight sets," said the 23-year-old.

"It's never easy coming to play against Andy, especially in front of a home crowd. I've been pretty fortunate today and I'm just happy."

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