Britain Braces For Severe 'Weather Bomb'

Forecasters have issued widespread weather warnings across Britain as the country braces for a so-called "weather bomb".

Major travel disruptions are expected as winds of up to 80mph strike some areas and huge waves hit northern coastal regions.

The Met Office has issued amber weather alerts for western Scotland, the Highlands, Northern Ireland, Orkney and Shetland and Strathclyde regions.

Yellow weather warnings have also been issued across England's South East, South West, North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humber, as well as in northern Wales and several other areas.

The rapid cyclogenesis - known colloquially as a "weather bomb" - is a deep low pressure system moving slowly eastwards between Scotland and Iceland.

Video: What Is A Weather Bomb?

Steve Willington, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: "Very strong winds are likely to affect northern and central parts of the UK from early Wednesday and last through until early Thursday as a very deep low pressure system moves slowly eastwards between Scotland and Iceland.

"A period of severe gales is likely over northern and central Britain, as well as the potential for storm force winds over north-western coastal areas of Scotland."

Police have warned that travel conditions in the worst-hit areas of Scotland could be "hazardous".

Drivers are being told to expect disruption to both morning and evening rush hours.

The freezing winds will peak today, but more southerly areas of the UK are likely to be hit by a second storm due to roll in from the Atlantic on Thursday night.

Video: Huge Waves Hit Scottish Coast

Ferry services in Scotland have already been disrupted as the winds whipped up unusually high waves, with sea swells of up to 12m in parts.

The Forth, Kessock and Skye bridges have been closed to high-sided vehicles because of the rising wind speeds.

Several train services will also be cancelled as a safety precaution, Network Rail and ScotRail have announced.

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What Is The Weather Bomb Heading To UK?

It's not unusual to have big Atlantic storms barrelling towards Scotland at this time of year.

But this is a weather bomb, a rapidly intensifying depression - with the pressure plunging in the eye of the storm by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.

And it's leading to exceptionally high seas, with wave heights in excess of 50 feet or 16 metres.

That's more than twice the height of an average house.

The biggest waves will be in the deeper water.

Video: Huge Waves Hit Scottish Coast

But the islands and western and northern coasts of Scotland will be battered overnight and through Wednesday.

The atrocious weather is being fuelled by a strong trans-Atlantic jet stream.

The high altitude winds are racing along at 230mph.

Video: Sky News Weather Forecast

They spawned this storm and now they're steering it headlong into the Scottish coast.

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Missing Madeleine: Police To Question Suspects

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent, in Portugal

Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will today begin interviewing 11 people considered witnesses and suspects in the seven-year mystery.

Police from the British-led investigation Operation Grange will be in attendance, but it is understood Portuguese officers from the Policia Judiciaria will lead the questioning.

Seven of the number are believed to be 'arguidos', which means they are treated as formal suspects but have not been charged with a crime.

In Portuguese law, police can declare a suspect to be an arguido in order to ensure they cannot travel abroad and can be used as a pre-cursor to charging a suspect with an offence.

However, the status also gives the suspect the right to refuse to answer questions and secure legal representation.

Video: Sept: Exclusive Madeleine Report

A further four people are being interviewed as witnesses to the disappearance of Madeleine who vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents Gerry and Kate were dining with friends nearby.

It is believed that one of the men police will question as a witness is Robert Murat who was declared an arguido by Portuguese police in the initial investigation.

He was later cleared and won substantial libel payouts from several media organisations.

Mr Murat says he is happy to help the investigation and has nothing to hide.

It is believed the interviews will be attended by Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wall who will officially take over control of Operation Grange on 22 December after the departure of DCI Andy Redwood.

Video: Sept: Secret Home Office Report

Earlier this year, Scotland Yard detectives returned to Portugal to help interview several people over the case.

It followed on from searches of three areas of land near the Ocean Club, the hotel where the McCanns were staying.

Portuguese and British investigators excavated an area of scrubland to the west of the resort at the start of June but found no evidence related to the case.

Portuguese police closed their investigation in 2008, but the Metropolitan Police launched its own inquiry three years later.

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West Midlands Police Ordered Back To Base

Police in the West Midlands are investigating a potential security threat that led to its officers being called back to base.

A statement released by the West Midlands Police confirmed officers were given an "additional safety reminder" after information was received about officers' safety.

The safety advice included information about travelling to and from work in partial uniform.

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Forsyth said the action came after police received "information relating to the safety of West Midlands Police officers and police staff".

"There is nothing at this time to suggest there is an increased risk to members of the public," he said.

"We have taken the opportunity to remind all employees of the need to be vigilant. Our priority remains serving our communities and protecting them from harm.

"Officers remain on patrol and our staff continue to respond to calls for service as usual."

West Midlands Police say they are continuing to respond to 999 calls.

Sky's Sean Dilley said the security threat was a "fast-moving situation" which related to a "credible security threat".

"We have spoken to police officers from the area who confirmed two facts," Dilley said.

"The fact that officers have been called back to return to base, and also that they've been asked to watch out for each other when they are actually out on patrol.

"This is due to - (according) to the sources we've spoken to - a credible security threat."

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David Haines' Widow Brands IS Killers 'Cowards'

By Katie Stallard, in Sisak, Croatia

The widow of murdered aid worker David Haines has told Sky News the militants who killed her husband are cowards.

Speaking at their home in Sisak, Croatia, in her first television interview, Dragana Haines said:  "They consider themselves brave, but that's not bravery.

"It's a cowardly act to behead someone who has his hands tied behind his back, who is kneeling.

"You are a coward if you are going to behead someone who is helpless. You're not even a human being.

"You must be a monster to do something like that."

Video: Haines Widow On Love At First Sight

Mr Haines grew up in Scotland and served as an aircraft engineer in the RAF, but he found his calling in humanitarian work.

He met Dragana, his second wife, in post-war Yugoslavia.

He was working for a German reconstruction charity, and she was a translator for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

They married in 2010 and settled in Croatia, where their daughter, Athea, was born.

In March 2013, he was kidnapped while working for a French aid agency in Syria.

Video: Dragana Haines: Athea Is My Purpose

"Every day was a challenge," Mrs Haines said.

"Waking up in the morning and thinking OK should I be hopeful? Will it be a day when they will call me, or he will call me and say 'OK I'm free, I'm coming back'?

"Or will it be a day when they will call me and say something bad has happened?"

In June, Islamic State released a video showing Mr Haines, and warning he would be next to be killed.

"I saw him in the video," Mrs Haines said through tears.

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1. Gallery: Profile: David Haines

   David Haines was born in Holderness, East Yorkshire in 1970. He was raised in Scotland, where his parents still live

He studied at Perth Academy. After school he worked for Royal Mail before becoming an RAF engineer

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Drone And Plane In Near Miss Close To Heathrow

By Alex Rossi, Sky News Correspondent

Aviation experts are warning that it is only a matter of time before a drone causes a major accident with a passenger jet in the skies above Britain.

There has been a huge increase in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the last few years but you do not need a licence and there is only minimal regulation.

The warning from the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) comes after it was revealed in a report out on Monday that a drone almost collided with a passenger plane near Heathrow airport during the summer.

The general secretary of BALPA, Jim McAuslan, says it would be very easy for a near-miss to become a disaster.

He said: "Unless we put in place the regulation now and have enforcement procedures that are practical in operating efficiently then we are going to see an accident.

Video: UK Law Change Over Rise Of Drones?

"It doesn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to imagine a 3kg weight going at speed ingested into a jet engine or hitting a widescreen."

The incident happened on 22 July near Heathrow - which is the UK's busiest.

The pilot who spotted the drone was flying an Airbus A320 at an altitude of 700ft. The plane can carry as many as 180 passengers.

The report is expected to class the incident as category A, meaning there was a serious risk of collision.

Video: Debate: Drones And Privacy

With the cost of drone technology falling, they are being used for everything from promotional videos to gathering pictures for the news.

And this Christmas thousands of drones are likely to be sold on the high street and online.

But experts including the managing director of Horizon Imaging, David Hogg, say a lack of training is a concern when so many amateur operators are now taking their drones up in the air.

He said: "In the early days of model flying which is mainly where this problem is arising, you would go to a model flying club, you'd be taught how to fly and you'd learn all the safety aspects that way.

Video: Amazon Tests Drone Delivery

"These days that is completely by-passed. You can buy one with no prior knowledge of how to operate them and that's when the problem arises."

With so many applications, drones will be part of the technological landscape for years to come but it means it may only be a matter of time before the Government introduces tighter regulations.

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Osborne: Lib Dems Would Cause 'Economic Chaos'

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

George Osborne has placed himself on a collision course with the Lib Dems - warning that they, as well as Labour, would trigger "economic chaos" in Britain.

The Chancellor has also accused Nick Clegg's party of wanting to place "hefty income rises" on families.

The intervention could tip the Coalition into open civil war after a week in which the Lib Dem leader failed to turn up to watch Mr Osborne deliver his Autumn Statement, and a senior colleague criticised the scale of cuts that were unveiled.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Osborne says: "The Liberal Democrats are now arguing with themselves, so it's hard to work out exactly what they think."

He said the party wants tax rises instead of cuts but can't find the money needed through a property tax alone.

Video: Osborne Defends 'Balanced' Plan

"If you want higher taxes to do the heavy lifting, you'd also need to increase taxes like income tax or national insurance."

He admitted that, under his plans, there would be cuts for departments but also big reductions in the welfare bill.

Suggestions being put forward include pushing single parents to return to work a year earlier than at present, when their child turns two, and restricting child benefit to the first two children in the family.

Video: Osborne Reveals Boost For Buyers

"There's a clear choice: a competent plan to stay on course to prosperity with us; or a return to economic chaos with all the alternatives," he writes.

The article is likely to infuriate Mr Osborne's Treasury colleague, the Lib Dem chief secretary Danny Alexander, as well as the leader, Mr Clegg.

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Archbishop Welby Warns Hunger Stalks The UK

The Archbishop of Canterbury says he was left more shocked at the plight of poor families in the UK being forced to rely on food banks than the suffering in African refugee camps.

Hunger "stalks large parts of the country" while the scale of waste was "astonishing", said the Most Rev Justin Welby.

His made his comments ahead of the publication on Monday of a parliamentary report he has backed that sets out a series of proposals aimed at preventing people going hungry, and urges swift action by the Government and food industry.

The sharp increase in food banks has led to fierce political rows

In an article in The Mail on Sunday Archbishop Welby said, although less "serious", the situation of a family having to turn to food bank in the UK had shocked him more than terrible suffering in Africa because it was so unexpected.

He wrote: "In one corner of a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo was a large marquee.

Video: Food Banks Help One Million Britons

"Inside were children, all ill. They had been separated from family, friends, those who looked after them.

"Perhaps, mostly having disabilities, they had been abandoned in the panic of the militia attack that drove them from their homes. Now they were hungry.

"It was deeply shocking but, tragically, expected.

"A few weeks later in England, I was talking to some people - a mum, dad and one child - in a food bank.

"They were ashamed to be there. The dad talked miserably.

"He said they had each been skipping a day's meals once a week in order to have more for the child, but then they needed new tyres for the car so they could get to work at night, and just could not make ends meet.

Video: Red Cross To Help Britain's Hungry

"So they had to come to a food bank. They were treated with respect, love even, by the volunteers from local churches. But they were hungry, and ashamed to be hungry.

" I found their plight more shocking. It was less serious, but it was here.

"And they weren't careless with what they had - they were just up against it. It shocked me that being up against it at the wrong time brought them to this stage. There are many like them. But we can do something about it."

The sharp increase in the number of food banks across the country in recent years has proved politically divisive.

Earlier this year, ministers were accused of "taking food from the mouths of children" after blocking millions of pounds of European funding agreed for British food banks.

Cash to help people suffering extreme poverty across the EU was backed in a vote at the European Parliament but the Government said food aid was better decided nationally rather than by Brussels.

Video: Cameron's Secret Visit To Food Bank

Archbishop Welby has called for changes to allow food companies to pass on goods they could no longer sell.

Under the current system it costs retailers to give away surplus food to the the hungry.

He added: "At least some of the food being sent to the incinerator should be used as a force for good to help (the poor) out of the rut in which they find themselves.

"We need to make it easier for food companies to give edible surplus food to charities and still encourage them to send inedible food for energy production.

"The big names in the food business know they have a moral obligation to they communities they work in.

"We need to make sure that the financial incentives in their industry don't act against their moral instincts."

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Drink-Driving Limit Reduced In Scotland

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

Scotland has lowered its drink-driving limit.

The legal alcohol limit has been reduced from 80mg of alcohol to 50mg in every 100 ml of blood.

It equates, roughly, to a reduction in permissible alcohol from two pints of standard strength beer to one pint, or from one-and-a-half glasses of wine to one glass.

However, the way in which a person processes alcohol varies according to the individual and a range of circumstances.

Therefore, people travelling in Scotland are being urged not to drink any alcohol at all before getting behind the wheel.

Video: Fifty Years Of Drink-Drive Adverts

Scotland's Justice Secretary Michael Matheson told Sky News: "It's very important that we take action to improve safety on our roads.

"We know that alcohol is a factor in one-in-ten of road traffic deaths in Scotland, and by reducing the limit we can make sure we get the message to people that drink-driving is unacceptable."

The limit reduction brings Scotland into line with most EU countries.

There are proposals in Northern Ireland to follow suit but there is no such thirst for change south of the Scottish border.

Asked whether this might cause cross-border confusion for motorists, Mr Matheson replied: "People have a responsibility as drivers to make themselves aware of the regulations and rules of the country in which they're driving.

Video: Female Drink-Driver Number Doubles

"We have different laws in Scotland over a range of different matters so it's important that anyone visiting Scotland is made aware of that." 

There has been a information campaign to alert drivers to the change, using public information films and roadside signs.

The limit is not being reduced to zero because some people have alcohol in their system because of some medicines and even mouthwash. 

The lowering of the limit has been broadly endorsed by road safety campaigners and motorists group, although the Institute of Advanced Motorists has given a qualified welcome.

It would have preferred a sliding scale of punishments, in line with practice on the continent.

Video: Brits Unaware Of Drink-Driving Laws

Spokesman Neil Greig told Sky News: "We've got two main concerns.

"The first one is that if the police are catching people at this lower limit, then some of the people who actually cause crashes, who are two or three times the limit, they might be getting away with it.

"The second concern is that, in Europe, there are actually sliding penalties.

"It's like a speeding ticket at the lower limit.

"We don't have that in Scotland, we've got these stringent penalties and we might start to see a fall in support as people start to realise how important these penalties are and how difficult it's going to be, even if you are caught at the lower limit."

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Police Identify Mum Of Baby Found In Bin

Police believe they have identified the mother of a newborn baby found dead in a wheelie bin.

A member of the public found the infant's body on Monday in a communal waste area of a small housing estate on the outskirts of Richmond, North Yorkshire.

And North Yorkshire Police said in a new statement: "Officers believe they have now identified the mother, who is receiving medical treatment and care."

They said a post-mortem examination on the baby suggested the infant was stillborn.

Inspector Mark Gee said: "We thank the local community and the media for their continued support and sensitivity regarding this tragic case.

"We ask residents to remain patient and calm while the police enquires continue. In particular, please avoid any unhelpful or harmful speculation on social networking sites.

"To provide further reassurance for residents, extra police patrols are being carried out in the local area."

Police previously conducted a fingertip search through rubbish at Whitcliffe Grange, a cul-de-sac off the main road west out of Richmond.

Paramedics had been called to the scene of the discovery but were unable to revive the girl, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The head of midwifery at Darlington Memorial Hospital has appealed for the mother to come forward for a medical examination.

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