Movember: Call For Men's Cancer Support Groups

Campaigners have told Sky News they hope the record number of people supporting an annual cancer awareness appeal will help get more men starting their own support networks.

More than 160,000 men are diagnosed with cancer every year, including 40,000 who are told they have prostate cancer - and although there are hundreds of support groups for women, there are relatively few for men.

According to Movember, the campaign that encourages men to grow moustaches while raising funds, men are also less willing to talk openly with their friends.

Around 355,000 people have signed up to the appeal this year, with men growing and grooming a moustache throughout November to raise vital funds - more than £10.4m so far this year - for men's health.

Hywell Mills, Movember's sponsorship manager, said: "We've had a fantastic year so far, with 100,000 more moustaches being grown than last year, and the amount of awareness that generates, even before a penny is raised, cannot be underestimated. 

"We find it's a great conversation starter, especially as men aren't as comfortable as women in having these types of conversations.

"We work very closely with our men's health partners - Prostate Cancer UK, for example, runs peer-to-peer support networks and helplines for men to speak to dedicated cancer support nurses.

DJ Neil Fox, whose dad, Roy, died from cancer, is backing Movember

"But people need to be more aware of these services and they need to talk to their mates and their GPs as well. Creating these communities is something we're encouraging."

Neil Fox's father died of prostate cancer. The Magic FM DJ also wants to see more groups set up and said: "My dad was 76. He found out two years before. He had all the classic symptoms but he still didn't go to his GP. When he did go even the GP didn't recognise the signs."

In central London, a group of people, all of whom have been affected by prostate or testicular cancer, have already gathered to share their experiences with each other.

Stuart McGuire, 36, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in May this year. He is now in remission after undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

He said: "I remember being in the waiting room, waiting for the results. My wife came in with our baby and the doctor said: 'Stuart, you've got testicular cancer and it's spread up the the lymph nodes to your abdomen.'

"I thought, 'this can't be happening to me, this is happening to somebody else.'

"My wife was amazing and asked lots of intelligent questions but I just went into zombie mode."

Waldo de Vleeschauewer, who was also told he had the disease last October, said: "I was ignorant about cancer. I'm very active - I play squash and rugby and I thought it may have just been a sports injury.

"As guys you 'man up' and you get on with it. If something's bothering you, you just ignore it."

Movember originated in Australia but has now spread to at least a dozen countries worldwide.

Last year, 854,000 worldwide supporters raised £79.3m. In the UK, much of the money is donated to Prostate Cancer UK and the Institute of Cancer Research.

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PM Faces Tory Rebellion Over Gay Marriage

By Darren McCaffrey, Sky Reporter

David Cameron could be facing the biggest Conservative rebellion of his premiership over plans to introduce gay marriage.

Some 118 Tory MPs - more than a third of the party's representatives- have indicated to their constituents that they are uneasy about the highly controversial move, according to The Daily Mail.

The reported figure is a sign of how divided the Conservative Party is over gay marriage, despite both the Prime Minister and Chancellor George Osborne being personally committed to legislating for it.

Ministers have promised to introduce a Bill before 2015, although it has been claimed this week that Mr Cameron actually wants to fast-track legislation and bring it before Parliament early next year.

The Government has indicated that there will be a free vote, meaning that MPs will be able to vote against the Prime Minister's position without facing disciplinary action.

However it is far from clear if all 118 MPs would vote against the legislation.

Sky News have spoken to several MPs quoted in the article who have ruled out voting against the Government.

Openly gay MP for Bournemouth West, Conor Burns, said he hasn't decided whether to abstain or vote in favour but says he doesn't understand why it's being brought forward now.

Other MPs have expressed concerns over whether enough safeguards are in place to protect religious institutions but refuse to indicate whether they oppose the principle of gay marriage.

The Chancellor however believes a large Tory vote against gay marriage will not help the party appeal to centre ground voters.

Mr Osborne warned last week that ditching the policy would be toxic electorally.

He said that polls indicate a "clear majority" in favour of the change, particularly among the young and women.

A significant vote in opposition to the Government's proposals from within Conservative ranks would certainly be an embarrassment for the Prime Minister and a further blow to his credibility.

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Thousands Lose Power As Rain Batters Britain

Thousands of people have been left without power and scores evacuated from their homes after heavy rain battered Britain for a second day.

Up to 60mm (5ins) of rain fell in some areas as winds gusted up to 70mph, leaving vast swathes of the country under water.

People trying to escape the rising waters were forced to abandon their cars and the AA reported that 900 incidents were being reported every hour. 

Around 2,000 homes in the South West and 500 in Wales were without power, as Western Power said it was looking to restore electricity.

There is more bad weather to come with forecasters predicting storms over the weekend, although Friday will bring a brief respite with calm and sunny weather.

Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said: "The threat of flooding looks to remain into the weekend, with potentially stormy conditions across England, Wales and Ireland on Saturday night.

"The threat of yet more heavy rain falling on already saturated ground is not good news and will only increase the risk of flooding."

The South West, Midlands and west of England again bore the brunt of the bad weather.

Commuters were faced with widespread delays and some cancellations, including at London Paddington where some trains to south west stations were scrapped. Minor delays were reported on cross-Channel ferry journeys from the Port of Dover in Kent.

The Environment Agency has scores of flood warnings - where flooding is expected - in place, most of them in the South West and the Midlands, and nearly 200 less serious flood alerts have also been issued.

John Curtin, head of incident management at the Environment Agency, said they had sent out teams to check on flood defences and monitor river levels.

Darron Burness, the AA's head of special operations, said: "Drivers really need to be careful and be prepared for sudden road closures."

He said that some drivers ploughed into flood waters "oblivious to the risks" and warned that this could wreck a car's engine.

The motoring organisation was expecting to attend as many as 13,000 call-outs by the end of the day - 3,500 more than they normally would.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals criticised a decision to allow a ship carrying hundreds of sheep to set sail across the English Channel in such bad weather conditions.

RSPCA chief executive Gavin Grant said the crossing amounted to torture and added: "It is barbaric that animals are at sea on open decks in these appalling weather conditions."

People were evacuated from Billing Aquadrome campsite in Northamptonshire following flood warnings from the nearby River Nene.

Coastguards issued a warning after a man narrowly avoided being swept out to sea in his canoe off the south Devon coast.

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Electricity Bills: Green Power Adds Extra £75

Green power could add £75 a year to electricity bills by 2020 under new government plans.

The coalition's long-awaited green energy strategy will treble the costs levied on bills from £2.35bn a year to £7.6bn.

And the drive for clean energy could add an estimated £178 a year to bills by 2030, before adjusting for inflation, experts believe.

An estimated £110bn is needed in the next decade to renew the UK's ageing electricity infrastructure.

Much of that is set to go into low-carbon power sources such as wind farms to cut emissions and keep the lights on.

The forthcoming Energy Bill, which aims to drive the investment, has been the subject of political wrangling within the coalition.

There have been mixed messages about how committed the Government is to supporting a greener economy or backing new gas power.

But agreement has now been reached on contentious areas.

Significantly, the Bill will not include a limit for the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted per megawatt hour of power from the electricity sector by 2030.

The Government believes the spending level agreed for low-carbon power subsidies will allow the UK to meet goals to supply 30% of electricity from renewables by 2020.

Officials believe that while consumers will pay more money towards green energy strategies they will also save money because of increased energy efficiency at home.

Environmental campaigners have reacted angrily to the news that carbon will not be capped.

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace, said: "By failing to agree to any carbon target for the power sector until after the next election, David Cameron has allowed a militant tendency within his own ranks to derail the Energy Bill.

"It's a blatant assault on the greening of the UK economy that leaves consumers vulnerable to rising gas prices, and sends billions of pounds of clean-tech investment to our economic rivals."

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House Fire: Murder Probe Into Family Deaths

A house fire that killed a mother and her five children in Essex last month is now being treated as a murder investigation.

Sabah Usmani, a 44-year-old doctor, and the children died after a fire at their home in Barn Mead, Harlow, in the early hours of October 15.

Detective Superintendent Rob Vinson, said: "This is now a murder investigation. We believe that someone burgled the house and then caused a fire that took the lives of six innocent people.

The interior of the house

"Someone knows something about this incident and for whatever reason has not come forward to tell police what they saw or know.

"Please search your conscience for the sake of those five young children and their mother."

Sabah's husband, Abdul Shakoor, a doctor, tried unsuccessfully to save his family from the blaze.

His daughter Hira, 12, and sons Sohaib, 11, and Rayyan, six, died at the scene.

His son Muneeb, nine, and daughter Maheen, three, were taken to hospital in a critical condition and later died.

Dr Shakoor was the only survivor

At the same time as fire crews were tackling the blaze, a Ford Focus car was alight in a parking area nearby.

Mr Vinson said: "The car that was discovered alight on the same morning belonged to a neighbour and was parked around 20 metres away from the Shakoor home. Do you have any information about this car fire?"

"I need the public's help and appeal for information about people who were in the area and about items taken in the burglary," he added.

Dr Shakoor's laptop bag which contained a two-pin lead was originally found in a hedge along the footpath between St Michael's Close and Whitewaits, Harlow by two teenagers, then abandoned in Whitewaits by some garages.

Police want to know how the laptop bag came to be abandoned in the hedge. They also want to anyone who has been offered a Toshiba Satellite, the make of a family laptop that is still missing, to contact police.

Mr VInson said: "We need to find a group of four young men, 16-19, possibly wearing tracksuits and baseball hats, one significantly taller than the others.

"Additionally we need to speak to two teenagers on bikes. Anyone who was in the area at the time of the fire or has any information about who was there must contact us."

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UK Border Agency's '100,000 Unopened Letters'

UK Border Agency (UKBA) staff dealt with a backlog of immigration cases so inefficiently that at one point 100,000 items of post were unopened, says a report.

Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration John Vine found security checks were not carried out properly on old cases and that workers had failed to look at the records of other government departments.

Applications were placed into an archive of unresolved cases after "very minimal work", despite the agency assuring MPs that "exhaustive" checks had been carried out, he concluded.

Mr Vine said: "An examination of controlled archive cases showed that the security checks - which the agency stated were being done on these cases – had not been undertaken routinely or consistently since April 2011.

"I also found that no thorough comparison of data from controlled archive cases was undertaken with other Government departments or financial institutions in order to trace applicants until April 2012.

"This was unacceptable and at odds with the assurances given to the Home Affairs Select Committee that 124,000 cases were only archived after 'exhaustive checks' to trace the applicant had been made".

Mr Vinee was asked to evaluate how well UKBA had handled the backlog of thousands of unresolved  immigration cases.

In March 2011, there were 147,000 unfinished cases that were passed to an audit unit tasked with dealing with the backlog.

Mr Vine said he believed little had been done to try to resolve the cases before they were passed over.

Chief Inspector John Vine was highly critical in the report

He said that at one point more than 150 boxes of post, including letters from applicants, MPs and lawyers, lay unopened.

Some asylum seekers who had no grounds to stay in the UK accrued the right to remain in the country because they were waiting so long for their cases to be resolved.

"Through the inefficiency and delay of the agency, those who would otherwise have faced removal will have accrued rights to remain in the UK," Mr Vine said.

He also criticised "poor" customer service and said that a lack of resources meant that deadlines were often missed, even when legal action was threatened.

In a sample of 135 files examined as part of the inspection, each case had lain dormant for an average of 87 months - more than seven years - before they were reopened in 2010 for consideration.

The shortest period of inactivity was six months - the longest was an astonishing 17 years and nine months.

A total of 115 cases were found to have entered the UK illegally, and there were only 10 cases where active efforts had been made to trace absconders.

Only 34 applicants had been recorded as absconders on the police national computer.

The Chief Inspector made a series of recommendations to UKBA, including routine checks against police records and making a public commitment to resolve the backlog within a fixed timeframe.

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Report: Thousands Of Children Raped And Abused

By Richard Suchet, Sky News Reporter

At least 2,409 children were raped or abused by gangs or groups in England between August 2010 and October 2011, according to the Office of the Children's Commissioner.

Their interim report - the most in-depth investigation to date of child exploitation by gangs and groups in England - found a further 16,500 children were at "high risk" of abuse.

Deputy Children's Commissioner Sue Berelowitz – who is leading the inquiry - told Sky News that the figures are likely to be an "under-counting".

"Agencies across England are not sufficiently aware of the warning signs and they are not taking action to protect children," she said.

"There are of course some who are doing good work on this but too many are not taking this seriously enough, which means some children are falling through the net.

"It's a very, very worrying situation. It's absolutely not good enough that there are children in need of protection and are not being protected."

Much of the evidence presented in the report is too harrowing and graphic to be reported here.

It comes just months after nine Asian men who groomed white girls as young as 13 in Rochdale with drink and drugs were jailed at Liverpool Crown Court.

But Ms Berelowitz insists the "model" of Asian men targeting white girls "is just one of a number of models", and has warned that if investigators concentrate on those patterns, victims could be missed.

White men form the largest group of perpetrators in gangs and groups, according to the report.

28% of the victims brought to the attention of the inquiry were from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the report is a "wake-up call"

The report looks at the nature of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

It also highlights the use of mobile phones, social networking sites and other forms of technology through which perpetrators groom, bully and pursue victims - and the impact of violent pornography.

The report authors say it is "clear that sexually exploited children are not always identified even when they show signs of being victims".

They are now calling for "urgent action" to make sure that all agencies are made explicitly aware of the warning signs of child exploitation, and act on them.

Those signs include children going missing, offending, drug and alcohol abuse, self-harming and mental health problems.

It is also encouraging agencies to share information and work together.

Councillor David Simmonds, chairman of the Local Government Association's children and young people board, said: "While these are uncomfortable lessons for the organisations tasked with looking after children they will help to ensure improvements are put in place to better protect young people in future."

Andrew Flanagan, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: "This report quite clearly shows that the terrible problem of children being groomed for sexual abuse is widespread and needs urgent action to bring it to a halt.

"Sex offenders come from all backgrounds but if there is a problem with one community in a particular area we must be bold enough to address it and not just turn a blind eye."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the evidence should act as "a wake-up call to the Government and other agencies that urgent action is needed".

If you are a child or young person affected by abuse or exploitation you can call Childline for advice and support 24 hours a day on 0800 11 11.

If you are an adult who needs support or information, or are concerned about a child or young person, call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000.

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Lorries Targeted In New Smuggling Crackdown

Lorry drivers involved in the smuggling of illegal goods such as drugs and guns into the UK are being targeted in a new police campaign.

Operation Hedgehunter is a year-long crackdown on contraband material being taken to the North West from overseas via haulage companies.

In September lorry driver Stephen Newland from Burscough, Lancashire, was jailed for eight and a half years after Border Force officials found 45 kilos of cocaine worth £8m hidden in a false bulkhead in his cab.

In the same month, businessman Gary Pattinson from Hull was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for plotting to import high quality cocaine into the country hidden in boxes of flowers.

Detective Chief Inspector Janet Hudson, the senior investigating officer for the operation, said: "Almost all organised crime affecting the North West involves commodities like drugs, weapons or contraband crossing our borders illegally and end up fuelling crime on the streets of our communities and damaging people's lives.

"By targeting rogue elements within the haulage industry we are disrupting this supply chain, driving the criminal element out of trucking and firing a warning shot across their bows that we are going to be looking very closely at their business practices.

"The vast majority of firms are run by decent, law-abiding people who are simply trying to run a legitimate business and make a living. But they are not competing on a level playing field because some of their rivals are using the proceeds from organised crime to expand their business unfairly.

"My message to them is help us put a stop to this by sharing what you know about suspicious or illegal activity in your industry."

The haulage industry turns over £64bn each year, employing 220,000 people and operating 425,000 vehicles. 

Police and other agencies will be carrying out roadside examinations of heavy goods vehicles being driven on motorways to check if they are carrying any illegal loads or have committed any traffic offences.

Leaflets with an image of a set of truck doors with the slogan: "Illegal load on board?" will be placed by Border Force officers in the passports of truck drivers going through security checks at key ports.

The operation is supported by Crimestoppers, the Border Force, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, HM Revenue & Customs as well as all six regional police forces.

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Photos Of Unidentified Bodies Posted Online

Pictures of unidentified bodies have been uploaded to a new police website in the hope of finding out who they are.

The website features images of some of the 1,000 people the Missing Persons Bureau has on file.

As a precaution any thought to be distressing are marked with a warning and require confirmation before viewing.

The site also lists the age, ethnicity, hair and eye colour of those featured, as well as a description of the clothing they were wearing and any distinguishing features, such as tattoos and piercings.

Bureau manager Joe Apps said: "The aim of the new site is to bring closure to the families and friends of the people featured.

"With new unidentified person cases we rely on modern forensic techniques for identification, but on older cases we look to use every tool available and believe that publicity is the best chance of getting images recognised."

The site also has pictures of footwear

He added: "This will be the first time families of missing people have been able to search through records for themselves and it will empower families to play an active part in the search for their loved ones."

As well as bodies, the website will also feature living people, including those who have lost their memory.

Users are able to search through the cases - some dating back to the 1960s - and provide information about the people featured.

Any relevant details are then passed to the police or the coroner in charge of the case.

The Missing Persons Bureau, which was set up four years ago, records around 15 unidentified bodies every month.

Its website is similar to three in the US. Police in Switzerland and Belgium have also posted the details of unidentified people online to help with their investigations.

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All Homes 'To Be Given Cheapest Energy Deal'

Energy Secretary Ed Davey will flesh out proposals later to ensure all households are on the cheapest gas and electricity tariffs available.

After weeks of confusion about the Government's plans to simplify the market and reduce bills for hard-pressed families, the Liberal Democrat is expected to use an appearance before the Energy Select Committee to give more details.

It is thought that energy firms may be prevented from offering more than four tariffs and be required to automatically move customers on to the cheapest one.

The move comes amid long-standing concerns that many households are paying hundreds of pounds a year more than is necessary for gas and electricity because of the confusing array of tariffs.

Ed Davey insists the government backs a low carbon economy

The issue has become more acute in recent years because of rising wholesale prices that have seen energy charges soar.

Meanwhile, MPs have called on Chancellor George Osborne to reassure investors  the Treasury is committed to moving towards a greener economy.

Mr Osborne must use the autumn statement next month to end the uncertainty over the direction of energy policy, which is undermining investment in the UK's power sector, the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said.

MPs say George Osborne must "end the uncertainty"

The EAC also added their voices to calls from business leaders, trade unions and green groups for the Energy Bill, due to be published before the end of November, to include a target to slash emissions from the power sector by 2030.

The cross-party committee's chairwoman Joan Walley said: "The Treasury must end the uncertainty on energy policy and give investors and businesses the confidence to seize the enormous opportunities presented by new clean technologies."

Friends of the Earth's head of campaigns Andrew Pendleton said: "MPs are right to slam the Chancellor - his gas-fuelled economic strategy will send fuel bills soaring, jeopardise jobs and scupper UK efforts to tackle climate change."

He added: "The Treasury seems hell-bent on killing off Britain's growing green economy, despite the tens of thousands of jobs it can create and business leaders' group CBI's pleas for more backing."

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Paralysed Dogs Cured By Scientists

A study of pet dogs with severe spinal injuries suffered in accidents offers new hope for paralysed human patients.

Scientists restored movement to the dogs' hind legs by bridging breaks in the spinal cord using olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) taken from their noses.

The cells support nerve fibre growth that maintains a communication pathway between the nose and the brain.

One previously crippled dachshund, Jasper, was described by its owner "whizzing around the house" after undergoing the treatment.

The randomised controlled trial is the first to demonstrate effective spinal cord repair in "real life" injury cases.

Professor Robin Franklin, one of the study leaders from Cambridge University, said: "Our findings are extremely exciting because they show for the first time that transplanting these types of cell into a severely damaged spinal cord can bring about significant improvement."

In the trial, scientists studied 34 pet dogs that had all suffered spinal cord injuries as a result of accidents and back problems. None were injured deliberately for the sake of research.

One group of dogs had the OEC cells taken from the lining of their own noses and injected into the injury site. Another was only injected with the liquid in which the cells were suspended.

Dogs were tested for neurological function at one month intervals and had their walking ability assessed on a treadmill.

Those that had been injected with the OEC cells showed improved movement.

However Prof Franklin warned patients and their loved ones not to expect too much from the approach.

"We're confident that the technique might be able to restore at least a small amount of movement in human patients with spinal cord injuries, but that's a long way from saying they might be able to regain all lost function," he said.

"It's more likely that this procedure might one day be used as part of a combination of treatments, alongside drug and physical therapies, for example."

Jasper's owner, May Hay, from Cambridge, said: "Before the trial, Jasper was unable to walk at all. When we took him out we used a sling for his back legs so that he could exercise the front ones. It was heartbreaking.

"But now we can't stop him whizzing round the house and he can even keep up with the two other dogs we own. It's utterly magic."

Professor Geoffrey Raisman, chair of neural regeneration at University College London, said: "This is not a cure for spinal cord injury in humans - that could still be a long way off. But this is the most encouraging advance for some years and is a significant step on the road towards it."

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Report: Young Brits More Likely To Get Drunk

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

Young people in the UK are more likely to have been drunk by the age of 13 than those in almost any other country.

A report has also found that 15 and 16-year-olds are more likely to have been drunk in the last month than their foreign counterparts.

The survey carried out for the charity Alcohol Concern found only youngsters in Estonia, Malta and the Isle of Man drink more than young people in the UK.

Sixteen-year-old Charmaine McGivern, from Wythenshawe in Greater Manchester, told Sky News she started drinking when she was 13 with a group of older friends.

"They were saying to me 'drink' and because I was younger I took the drink and I was drinking and it was in one of my mate's houses. They were persuasive and everything, telling me to drink, telling me that it was fun but then I got the hang of drinking."

She described how she ended up in hospital when she was 14 because she was so drunk she fell and broke her ankle.

Campaigners say cheap alcohol is largely to blame for the drink problem

"It wasn't a nice feeling being hospital because I had to be on a drip. And it was from there I noticed that I was turning into an alcoholic and basically I was on the booze… and I found out I had alcohol poisoning."

She no longer drinks and says the damage alcohol did to her health has put her off it for life.

But the study found in general young people "drink to get drunk" with 63% of 16 to 24-year-olds agreeing that cheap alcohol promotions encourage then to drink to excess.

In March 1,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 were interviewed by research agency YouthSite for the study. They repeatedly told researchers it is "cheaper to buy a three-litre bottle of cider than buy a ticket to go to the cinema".

Other surveys have shown that many teens start drinking alcohol at 13

The study is being published to mark the start of Alcohol Awareness Week. It claims that alcohol is 44% more affordable now in relative terms than it was in 1980.

It also found that there has been a 25% increase in the number of off-licensed premises, which means "cheap" alcohol is more available.

Alcohol Concern's programme policy manager, Tom Smith, said: "This report is further proof of the impact cheap alcohol is having on the health and wellbeing of our young people.

"They have told us loud and clear that the way in which alcohol is priced influences the way they drink. We also know that our young people are more likely to have experienced being drunk by the age of 13 than their peers in almost any other European country."

Campaigners say it is time to set a minimum price on alcohol

"This survey shows just how urgent action on minimum unit pricing is and we're calling on the Government to set a 50p minimum unit price without delay."

Alcohol Concern chief executive Eric Appleby said: "Having open and frank conversations as a society about the way we drink has never been more important and this report highlights that.

"We know that as a nation we love talking about alcohol and we all have an opinion about it, but are we having the right conversations?

"We've really got to get this right for the sake of future generations. I hope people will embrace this opportunity to get talking and thinking about their drinking."

A Home Office spokesman said: "This is further evidence that cheap alcohol contributes to irresponsible drinking. Introducing a minimum unit price is just one of a range of measures the Government is taking to tackle the minority who cause alcohol-related crime and disorder in our local communities.

"We have already introduced early morning restriction orders to curb alcohol sales, a late night levy to ensure those selling alcohol help pay towards the costs of policing and we have made it easier for local authorities to tackle problematic licensed premises."

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Benefits Cap 'Immoral And Socially Divisive'

Plans for a £500-a-week cap on household benefits have been criticised in an savage attack by the former coalition minister for children and families.

Sarah Teather accused ministers of seeking to "gain popularity at the expense of children's lives" by pushing through a measure they knew was popular but ineffective.

The Lib Dem faced calls for her sacking as children's minister in February after she missed a key vote on the reforms which she had publicly questioned.

She eventually departed from the government ranks in September's reshuffle.

Speaking to The Observer, she said: "I think deliberately to stoke up envy and division between people in order to gain popularity at the expense of children's lives is immoral.

"It has no good intent."

She went on: "There are all sorts of things you have to do when times are tight that have negative consequences but you do them for good purposes.

"But to do something for negative purposes that also has negative consequences - that is immoral."

She added: "I don't think it was even remotely conceived as a financial cost-cutting device. I think it was conceived as a political device to demonstrate whose side you are on."

She said she was "terrified" about the prospects for many families who would be forced to move to cheaper areas where they would find it harder to find work.

"My fear is that a lot of people will effectively just disappear from the area in which they were living. I think some very horrible things are going to happen," she said, questioning how well child protection and education services would keep track of youngsters.

But a spokesman for Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith accused Ms Teather of hugely-misinformed scaremongering.

"The criticisms Sarah Teather is levelling against the Government's welfare reforms are hugely misinformed and therefore result in needless scaremongering," he told the newspaper.

"It's not fair or right that benefits claimants receive higher incomes than hard-working families who are striving to get on in life.

"Our reforms bring fairness back to the system while ensuring we support the most vulnerable."

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Energy Bill: The Plan To Keep UK's Lights On

By Gerard Tubb, Sky News Correspondent

Crucial plans to ensure the UK's lights stay on for the next twenty years are due to be published shortly by the Government.

The energy and climate secretary, Ed Davey, has to balance the need to create new generating capacity with commitments to a low carbon future and more electricity from renewable sources.

Many power stations are coming to the end of their life and the government estimates it will cost £110bn to replace and improve electricity infrastructure over the next decade.

Researcher Malcolm Grimston, from Imperial College and Chatham House, said it is essential that the Energy Bill is a success.

Researcher Malcolm Grimston said it is essential the bill is a success

"We've hardly built any new power stations for over 10 years now and a lot of our existing ones are coming to the end of their lives.

"We used to have a lot of our own gas reserves, they've pretty much gone so were now dependent on imports."

Electricity use is increasing, with suggestions that demand could double by 2050.

Advances in generating technology are increasing capacity, but planning concerns have the potential to derail industry targets.

At Ovenden Moor in West Yorkshire, Yorkshire Wind Power wants to replace 23 wind turbines generating 9.2MW of power with nine turbines generating up to 23MW.

But the size of the new turbines has led to campaigners in nearby Haworth, home to the Bronte Museum, complaining that the environment will be blighted - while denying charges of nimbyism.

"This is everyone's back yard, this is heritage landscape," said Chris Gwent, the heritage and conservation officer for the Bronte Society.

"We don't want them dominating this unique landscape."

The UK is signed up to providing 15% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and to reducing to zero the amount of carbon pumped into the atmosphere from electricity generation.

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