Hillsborough Police Chief To Face Inquests

By Mike McCarthy, North of England Correspondent

The man who was in charge of policing on the day of the Hillsborough disaster will today give evidence to inquests into the deaths of 96 football fans.

David Duckenfield was match commander on 15 April, 1989, and has been heavily criticised for blaming Liverpool supporters for creating the incident.

David Duckenfield was match commander on the day of the tragedy

The inquests have already heard that Mr Duckenfield, a former chief superintendent, gave the order to open an exterior gate to ease congestion at the Leppings Lane end outside the Sheffield stadium, but is alleged to have told officials that Liverpool fans had forced it open.

For many relatives of those who died in the disaster Mr Duckenfield is the most important figure from South Yorkshire Police to give evidence.

At the opening of the hearings last year the coroner Lord Justice Goldring told the jury that Mr Duckenfield was in overall control of "F" Division, where the Hillsborough stadium is based.

The police officer had been promoted just weeks earlier and had never been in charge of a match at Hillsborough before the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

Lord Goldring told the jury: "Whether that was a sensible decision may be something for you to have to consider." 

Members of the jury have been told that the then chief executive of the Football Association, Graham Kelly, went to the police control box after the match had been stopped and spoke to Mr Duckenfield.

Mr Kelly told an earlier hearing: "I said 'what has happened?' and Mr Duckenfield said 'the Liverpool fans have forced a gate'."

The officer in charge of the Leppings Lane turnstiles, Superintendent Roger Marshall, has already told the inquests that was a lie.

Michael Goddard, a former police sergeant who shared the control box with the match commander, told the inquests that Mr Duckenfield "did not step up to the plate" as the disaster unfolded and had made a "gross error" in failing to consider the effect of opening an exterior gate.

Although Mr Duckenfield was in charge of policing the Hillsborough match he was not the most senior South Yorkshire Police officer at the stadium. Assistant Chief Constable Walter Jackson was the senior officer on call for the day. 

Asked during his evidence whether it had been right for Chief Supt Duckenfield to take control of the semi-final he said: "He had reached a senior rank in the service and you don't get to be a deputy divisional commander if you haven't got tremendous experience."     

Mr Duckenfield is due to give evidence at the inquests for four days.

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Police Forces Lose Track Of 396 Sex Offenders

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

Police have lost track of almost 400 registered sex offenders they should be monitoring, include a child rapist who vanished two years ago, official figures have revealed.

Others have been off the police radar for much longer, one for 14 years.

Claude Knights, of the child protection charity Kidscape, said: "The horrifying prospect is that these offenders will have rebuilt their lives in communities who don't know them.

A government spokesman said more sex offenders are being imprisoned

"Re-offending is high and particularly among those who have left the support system that was designed to help them."

Everyone on the register - currently around 60,000 - is required to say where they are living. They are monitored by police, probation officers and the prison service under the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA).

But a total of 396 registered sex offenders have vanished after moving home without telling the authorities their new address.

Some of those missing are foreign nationals who may have returned to their own countries. That could include failed asylum seeker Patrick Kanda, 36, who was convicted of child rape.

He was monitored for several years after he was released from prison, but vanished two years ago from his home in Dagenham, Essex.

He is one of 167 offenders who have stopped reporting to monitors at the Metropolitan Police.

West Midlands Police has "lost" 39 registered offenders, Greater Manchester Police is missing 25, and Essex and Sussex have no contact with 11 offenders.

There are offenders missing from their homes in most of the UK's 45 forces, but only Scotland says it knows where all its 4,775 sex offenders are living.

The figures were revealed in response to a Freedom of Information request by the Press Association news agency. The forces refused to name any of those missing.

Jim Gamble, who runs child protection consultancy Ineqe, said: "Offenders who have chosen to go off the radar should be pursued and punished.

"By disappearing they are removing the incentive for staying in the system for the many others who choose to comply."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders and we are committed to ensuring the system is as robust as possible.

"Under this government more adult sex offenders are being imprisoned, and they are being imprisoned for longer. The latest published figures show there are more than 11,000 sentenced adult sex offenders in prison - up by more than 2,500 since 2010.

"We have also reformed civil orders by introducing new measures that give police and the courts further powers to restrict and monitor the activities of sex offenders and those who pose a risk.

"It is for the police to manage offenders in their area, but we work closely with forces to ensure legislation is effective and that officers have all the tools they need."

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Defence Cuts Could Put 30,000 Jobs At Risk

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

Britain's Army could shrink to its smallest size in more than 250 years the UK has been warned.

A report published by the think tank Royal United Services Institute predicts the UK defence budget will fall to 1.95% of GDP - below the NATO minimum of 2%.

A 2010 review led to the army reducing in size to 82,000 personnel

It warned that up to 30,000 service personnel could go - with the Army likely to bear the heaviest cuts - leaving the armed forces with a combined strength of just 115,000 by the end of the decade.

In a worst case scenario the Ministry of Defence (MoD) might face a 10% cut over the next four years and would need an additional £3bn added to its budget after 2016 to remain at the same level of spending.

Video: Are Army Jobs At Risk?

Further increases would then be needed to keep pace with the growth of the economy.

The report's author Professor Malcolm Chalmers states: "By 2019/20 an extension of the commitment to the NATO target would require the MoD to be provided with an additional £5.9bn in annual spending, compared with current plans."

None of the major parties has guaranteed defence spending and the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond wouldn't commit on the issue when pressed in an interview at the weekend. UKIP is the only party to suggest it will protect defence.

The US Army Chief of Staff recently warned Britain against making further cuts and Barack Obama has also spoken about the matter to David Cameron in private.

On Thursday MPs will debate defence spending in the House of Commons. It is becoming an increasingly important issue amongst backbench Conservative MPs who don't understand why the International Development budget is ring-fenced.

Video: Sept 2014: 'A Formidable Force'

Under the last security review in 2010 the Army reduced in size from 102,000 personnel to 82,000; the smallest since the Napoleonic wars.

Major equipment was also scrapped and not replaced, including the country's aircraft carriers and maritime patrol aircraft.

Those decisions have been exposed in recent months with the threat from Islamic State and growing aggression from Russia.

The paper's optimistic scenario envisages defence receiving an extra £4bn per annum from 2019/20, but recognises that would result in severe cuts for other departments or increased taxation.

The report states: "Even on the optimistic scenario, numbers of service personnel could fall from 145,000 to 130,000 by the end of the decade. Under the pessimistic scenario, they could fall to 115,000."

Video: Sept 2014: Danatt Criticises Cuts

It also warns than ships, fighter jets and armoured vehicles could be affected.

The report concludes: "In either scenario, the result will be a remarkably sharp reduction in the footprint of defence in UK society over a decade.

"Even in the optimistic scenario, defence's share of GDP will have fallen by a third, from 2.6% of GDP in 2010 to around 1.75% by 2019; and the MoD workforce (service and civilian) will have fallen by around 30% , from 265,740 to 184,000 by 2019."

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Cameron Pledges To Open 500 New Free Schools

By Jason Farrell, Political Correspondent

David Cameron says he wants to create 500 more free schools in the next parliament.

The Prime Minister will suggest at a speech in London later today that the controversial programme has been a great success, amid criticism from teachers' unions and the Labour Party.

"If you vote Conservative, you will see the continuation of the free schools programme at the rate you've seen in the last three years," he will say.

More than 400 free schools have been approved since 2010

"That means, over the next parliament, we hope to open at least 500 new free schools resulting in 270,000 new school places."

Under the free schools scheme parents and teachers can set up and design their own schools.

Video: Nick Clegg Takes On Free Schools

One institution expecting approval will be based at a "boxing boot camp" in Hackney which will use daily training sessions in the ring to help children deal with their anger.

Mr Cameron will also announce the approval of 49 new free schools, as a report by the right-wing think tank Policy Exchange concludes the innovation is driving up standards at primary and secondary level.

Free schools have been the big education experiment of this government so it is no surprise that, with an election coming, the Conservatives conclude it has been a huge success.

More than 400 have been approved since 2010 creating more than 230,000 places. According to Policy Exchange nearly three quarters (72%) of all open or approved mainstream free schools are in areas with a projected lack of places in the future.

But critics say the schools are unaccountable and the initial findings do not warrant expanding the programme.

Henry Stewart from the Local Schools Network said: "It you look at the data for both primaries and secondary schools free schools don't have any effect on the other schools in the area, but what they have done is they've used up a huge amount of resource.

"Some £1.7bn is the capital spend on free schools to date and the National Audit Office found that 52% of free school places are in areas that don't need new places."

Video: Gove Defends Free Schools

The Policy Exchange report also finds that free schools are not dominated by the middle class and are eight times more likely to be located in the most deprived areas of England than the most affluent.

Jonathan Simons, head of education at Policy Exchange, said: "Policymakers should make decisions based on evidence and the evidence clearly shows that free schools drive up standards of nearby schools in the local community, particularly the ones which are lower performing.

"Restricting new free schools solely to areas of basic need will deprive pupils - especially in some of the poorest performing schools - from achieving better results."

But Tristram Hunt MP, Labour's shadow education secretary, said: "The Tory plan is failing young people and their parents, with a third of all free schools found to be under-performing.

"Instead of focusing on the desperate need for more primary school places across the country and on spreading innovation right across the school system, David Cameron's government has spent at least £241m on free schools in areas that already have enough school places.

"The result is many more children forced into crowded classrooms - a 200% increase in the number of infants taught in classes of more than 30."

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UK Kurds Mixed About Britons Fighting IS

By Richard Suchet, Sky News Reporter

"You lost one son but you have earned thousands of other sons."

That is the message from the editor of the UK's only Kurdish newspaper, Aladdin Sinayic, to the family of the first British person to die fighting Islamic State extremists.

Ex-Royal Marine Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, travelled to Syria in December to fight alongside Kurdish forces but was killed on Monday.

Mr Scurfield died fighting alongside Kurdish forces

It is believed he quit his military career in order to join the fight against IS alongside Kurdish forces.

At the Kurdish Community Centre (KCC) in Haringey, north London, he is considered a hero.

Video: Brit Killed Fighting Islamic State

One visitor to the centre told Sky News: "We think that these people must be very, very sensitive about Kurds and very intellectual. They have a big heart for us."

Another said: "When Erik's body is returned to the UK, we would like to do something special for his family - we want to invite them here and have a ceremony for them."

London is home to thousands of Kurds - a community united not by statehood but by language and culture.

Haringey is more than 3,000 miles from the fight against IS but the suffering of their people in the geocultural region of Kurdistan is at the forefront of their minds.

The walls of the KCC are plastered with pictures of Kurdish martyrs, many of whom have family in London.

"As long as we are awake we talk about these issues," says one man.

"It is part of our lives. Our minds have never been free of thinking about what is going on in Kurdistan."

Video: 19 Feb: Ex-Public Schoolboy Fights

Another added: "We came here two hours ago together, we are having our tea but at the same time we are talking about what is going on in Kurdistan.

"What, for example, is going to happen tomorrow?"

Telegraf editor Mr Sinayic believes the country's Kurdish community would like to see more Westerners travel to the Middle East to take on IS.

"When you see Britons or other nationalities going there and being in the fight, this is something very very important for us," he says.

"They are honourable."

But one British Kurd who has fought IS does not want to see other Brits risking their lives.

Security guard Yasir Abdullah is originally from Iraq but lives in West Yorkshire with his wife and four children.

Video: Dec: Britons Reveal Fight In Syria

Twice he has gambled everything by returning to his village to fight alongside other Kurds.

"I see on the TV what they're doing to the Kurdish or Arabs, or executing, everything, the bad things they do and we thought, we have to stand up to fight against this enemy of humanity," he said.

"But we don't want anyone coming over there to help us.

"We thank everybody - if they want to come over we thank them to not come over there.

"If they want to help us, tell the British Government and American Government more weapons. This is what we want."

Authorities go to great lengths to prevent UK nationals travelling to join IS but those wanting to fight against Islamist extremists seem to be free to do so.

But people who succeed in reaching the battlefield are held in high regard by a community that until recently has felt largely abandoned by the West.

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Trespasser On Roof Of House Of Commons

Police have confirmed they are dealing with a man trespassing on the roof of the House of Commons.

Officers were made aware of the man on the roof at 9.15pm on Saturday.

Sky News Political Correspondent Jason Farrell, who is at the scene, says the man is on his own and wearing a grey top and dark trousers.

Police were called to the scene at 9.15pm. Pic: Jason Farrell

Farrell says he seems "quite young and quite relaxed".

The man can be seen walking around on the roof.

A police boat on the river side of Westminster. Pic: Jason Farrell

Police say they have not had much communication with him.

It is not yet known why he is on the roof.

He does not have a banner so it is not known if the incident is related to a protest, Farrell says.

The fire brigade and ambulance service are at the scene and a police boat is on the Thames side of Parliament.

Campaigners have used the roof for stunts in the past, including protesters in 2008 demonstrating against a third runway at Heathrow.

And a year later dozens of Greenpeace protesters climbed on to the roof to call for action on climate change.

During that protest, they unfurled banners which read: "Change the politics, save the climate."

Earlier on Saturday, more than 5,000 protesters gathered outside Parliament for a climate change demonstration.

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Missing Girls' Families Slam Police Over Letter

The families of three London schoolgirls feared to have fled to Syria to become jihadi brides have accused the Metropolitan Police of failing to pass on a crucial letter.

They say a letter from the force requesting to interview the girls in relation to a classmate who ran off to Syria last year should have been handed directly to the families.

However, the letters were hidden by the girls in their school textbooks and their families never saw them.

Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-old Amira Abase, who attended Bethnal Green Academy in east London, sparked a police hunt after they flew to Istanbul from Gatwick Airport last month and are now believed to be in Syria.

Abase Hussein, the father of Amira, insisted that if he had seen the police letter he would have talked his daughter out of leaving and taken away her passport.

Video: Missing Amira's Dad: 'Come Home'

Halima Khanom, sister of Kadiza Sultana, said: "We wouldn't have been here today doing this if we'd got that letter and known what was going on."

Scotland Yard confirmed that it sent letters out to the three girls after their friend disappeared in December and that they were also spoken to by officers as part of a "routine inquiry".

A Metropolitan Police statement said: "The Metropolitan Police Service has been engaged with staff at the girls' school since December 2014 as part of the routine inquiry by officers investigating the disappearance of their friend.

Video: London Schoolgirls 'In Syria'

"There was nothing to suggest at the time that the girls themselves were at risk and indeed their disappearance has come as a great surprise, not least to their own families.

"The girls were spoken to in December 2014 as part of the routine inquiry by officers investigating the disappearance of their friend.

"We continue to liaise with the school and local education authority in connection with this ongoing investigation."

Video: Shamima's Sister: 'We Need You'

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Family Demands Names Of New Child Abuse Files

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

The Government's refusal to reveal the titles of four files related to child abuse has been branded "disgusting" by the family of a boy missing since 1979.

It is now over a month since the Cabinet Office confirmed it had found four more files relevant to the ongoing child abuse inquiries centred on VIPs in Westminster.

Officials have promised the files will be handed over to the police and various inquiries but they are still refusing to allow the titles of the files to be made public, let alone the contents.

Kevin Allen: 'They are playing with our lives'

At the start of February Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said: "Officials have identified four additional relevant files, one of which was marked for destruction."

Despite repeated requests from Sky News over the course of the last month officials at the Government department say their position remains unchanged.

Video: NZ Judge To Chair Abuse Inquiry

It has angered many survivors and campaigners, not least the family of Martin Allen who was 15 years old when he vanished in London nearly 35 years ago.

The teenager was last seen on the London Underground with an unidentified man at Gloucester Road station on 5 November 1979.

His brother Kevin Allen told Sky News he was "pretty definite" there is a link between the establishment abuse networks in Westminster and his brother's disappearance.

He said he could not accept that the names of the files are still being withheld.

"It makes me very angry, because these people have got a hold over us.

Video: 21 Dec: 'No Transparency'

"It is our information, these people are our employees taking our money which is more than 'Mr Average' earns probably in the course of a month. It is disgusting.

"It is our lives they are playing with. I hope they can sleep at night."

Mr Allen is in regular contact with Met police detectives leading abuse inquiries which include allegations boys were killed.

While the content of the files may be sensitive, refusing to reveal the names means the public has no way of tracking them or knowing how they are being dealt with.

It follows a Sky News investigation which unearthed another classified file in January that the Cabinet Office had kept closed on grounds of national security.

Video: 4 Dec: Abuse Victim Andy Kershaw

After MPs raised the issue in the House of Commons, government officials were forced to release it to the National Archives.

The documents revealed former British diplomat, the late Sir Peter Hayman, was the subject of the secret file. The papers documented his "unnatural" sexual behaviour and his activities within the Paedophile Information Exchange group.

Neither the Hayman file nor the four new files were found during an earlier Home Office-commissioned search for documents relevant to ongoing abuse inquiries.

The Cabinet Office declined to make Mr Maude available for interview.

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Shotgun Certificates Issued To Hundreds Of Kids

By Siobhan Robbins, West Of England Correspondent

Figures obtained exclusively by Sky News have revealed that eight-year-olds have been issued shotgun certificates by police in England.

A Freedom of Information request to all police forces in England and Wales shows in the last five years, eight-year-olds have received the certificates in Devon and Cornwall, Lancashire, Sussex and Kent.

Chief Superintendent Jim Nye from Devon and Cornwall Police said: "The Firearms Act of 1968 allows someone of that age to have a shotgun.

"Devon and Cornwall is very much a rural community, and the young persons who are asking for a certificate to be granted are generally brought up in a farming community where it's tradition and we don't give them out without (a) substantial amount of checks."

Sky News' Freedom of Information request showed more than 670 under 14s have been given shotgun certificates by police in the last five years.

Video: Gun Safety For A Six Year Old

Every force in the country was able to provide a five-year breakdown for under 14s except Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire, the Metropolitan Police, South Yorkshire, Essex and Sussex Police.

There is no minimum age for applying for a shotgun certificate in the UK, with the chief constable of each force deciding whether to issue the licence.

The law still prohibits people under 18 from owning or buying a shotgun, or using one without supervision.

Police recorded 7,709 offences involving firearms in 2013/14, down from 8,135 the year before.

However some campaigners fear that introducing children to guns at a young age may mean they turn to them in a crisis.

Christine Hall from Gun Control Network said: "The danger is it poses in the mind-set of the child that it's fun to kill things.

Video: BASC Young Shots Ambassador's View

"It seems strange that a child can't go into a pub and have a pint but they can have access to a shotgun."

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) is Britain's largest shooting organisation.

They actively encourage young people to try shooting sports.

A BASC spokesperson told Sky News that it supports the Home Office in guidance on firearms law, which has said: "It is in the interests of safety that a young person who is to handle firearms should be properly taught at a relatively early age."

They added: "For many children growing up in families where shooting is a part of life, acquiring a shotgun certificate is part of training in shooting safely which emphasises responsibility and self-discipline.

"This can only be to the public benefit and as the police confirm is no threat to public safety."

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New Parking Ticket Rules End 'War On Drivers'

Drivers are to get ten minutes' grace before being given a ticket if they stay too long on council parking spots.

The changes in the law in England are expected to come in within weeks and will apply to all on-street and off-street council parking spots.

Other measures in the Deregulation Bill include a right for residents and local firms to demand their council reviews parking in their area.

CCTV camera cars that automatically issue parking fines are to be made illegal - apart from in areas near schools and in bus lanes.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: "We are ending the war on drivers who simply want to go about their daily business.

Video: Councils' Parking Revenue Soars

"For too long parking rules have made law-abiding motorists feel like criminals, and caused enormous damage to shops and businesses.

"Over-zealous parking enforcement undermines our town centres and costs councils more in the long term."

Fines at out-of-order parking meters when there is no alternative way to pay will also be scrapped.

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1. Gallery: How To Appeal A Parking Fine

   Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) are usually issued by local councils or Transport For London for alleged contraventions in council-owned car parks or on-street parking infringements.

If you pay within 14 days, you usually receive a 50 per cent discount. Any appeal should be made within this period so that even if your appeal is unsuccessful, you will still pay the reduced fee.

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