Santander Bank Hacking Plot: Four Charged

Four men have been charged for allegedly taking control of computers at a bank branch and trying to steal millions of pounds.

Police say one of the men posed as an engineer to fit a computer at the branch in Surrey Quays shopping centre, southeast London, with a "keyboard video mouse" (KVM).

The device, which can be purchased online for as little as £10, allegedly allowed them to transmit the contents of the computer's desktop and take control of all computers at the branch.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said it was not clear whether any money was taken, but the bank said "no money was ever at risk".

Police said that detectives and bank officials had thwarted a "very significant and audacious cyber-enabled offence" that would have cost Santander millions of pounds.

The four men charged with conspiracy to steal are: Lanre Mullins-Abudu, 25, from Putney, southwest London; Dean Outram, 34, from northwest London; Akash Vaghela, 27, from Hounslow, west London; and Asad Ali Qureshi, 35, from southwest London.

A KVM device similar to the one used in the alleged cyber theft plot

They will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 14.

Eight other people who were arrested have been bailed until mid-November pending further inquiries.

A Santander spokesman said: "Like all high street banks, Santander works very closely with the police and other authorities to help prevent fraud.

"Through this co-operation, Santander was aware of the possibility of the attack connected to the arrests. The attempt to fit the device to the computer in the Surrey Quays Branch was undertaken by a bogus maintenance engineer pretending to be from a third party.

"No member of Santander staff was involved in this attempted fraud.

"We are pleased that we have been able, through the robustness of our systems, to prevent the fraud and help the police gather the evidence they needed to make the arrests."

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Leicester: Arrests Over Murder 'Linked' To Fire

Police investigating a murder possibly linked to a fire which killed a mother and her three children have arrested three people.

A man and two women, all aged 19, were detained in connection with the murder of a man in his 20s in Leicester.

Leicestershire Police said: "The arrests are in connection with an investigation launched on Thursday, September 12, after police officers found a man injured in Kent Street.

"He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary where he later died. The man has not yet been formally identified."

The killing took place hours before a mother and her three children were killed in a house fire about half a mile away.

Shehnila Taufiq, who was in her 40s, died along with her 19-year-old daughter and sons aged 17 and 15 when their property was engulfed in flames.

The fire ripped through the family's property in Leicester

The mother and her children, named by a local mosque as Zainab, Jamal and Bilal, died in their bedrooms at their terraced house in the Spinney Hills area of the city just after 12.30am on Friday.

Mrs Taufiq's neurosurgeon husband, Dr Muhammad Taufiq al Sattar, is believed to be on his way home from Ireland, where he works.

Leicestershire Police, who have begun two murder inquiries, said they could not rule out a link between the tragedies and were investigating whether the fire had been intentionally started as a revenge attack.

Assistant Chief Constable Roger Bannister said it was possible both offences, which he described as "terrible, terrible crimes", were linked, citing the close locations and lack of time between them.

He said: "I can't confirm here and now it is a revenge attack - it may be, it may not be - but lines of inquiry will certainly get to the bottom of that."

Referring to neighbours talking about a "fire bombing", Mr Bannister said: "Fire bombing in my experience means different things to different people.

"We are working really closely with the fire brigade. Exactly how the fire started, where it started and of course who is responsible is something we will get to the bottom of."

Mr Bannister said neither the family nor the man who was killed were known to police.

The force has drafted in extra officers and forensics staff to investigate both crimes and increased patrols in the area.

Officers are working to trace a man who also lived in the property.

Neighbours of the family reacted with disbelief to the idea that they could have been intentionally killed - and claimed they may not have been the intended target.

Police say the blaze and a man's murder may be linked

A man, who did not want to be named, said: "Most people feel this was meant for somebody else and they got the wrong house."

Leicester-based Imam Ibrahim Mogra, the assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, visited the scene.

He told reporters: "I did not know them personally but from what people have told me they were a very religious family, very humble, very modest and very generous.

"The mother was a scholar herself and clearly they were a family that was into religion and education and were held in very high esteem by the local community."

Local store-keeper Sattar Raidhan, who has lived in the area for 35 years, said: "I believe the husband worked as a doctor in Ireland and he came home every weekend to see his family. I can't even imagine how this would happen to a family like that."

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Girl, 16, Charged With Murder Of Baby

A 16-year-old girl has been charged with the murder of a baby.

Lincolnshire Police said the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged over the death of the baby in Baston, Lincolnshire, between September 3 and 4.

She was remanded in custody and is due to appear before Grantham Magistrates Court later this morning.

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House Price Growth 'Should Be Capped At 5%'

A 5% cap should be placed on annual house price growth to prevent another property 'bubble', surveyors have suggested.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has called on the Bank of England to limit yearly house price inflation to 5% in order to take the "froth" out of any future booms and put a stop to any "dangerous build up in household debt".

It suggested the Bank could put the brakes on house price growth by imposing a ceiling on the amounts of money banks are allowed to lend.

It could also put caps on the term of a mortgage, the amount people can borrow in relation to their deposit or the sum they can borrow in relation to their income.

The request - an unusual one from an industry group that typically benefits from rising prices - comes months before the Government begins to offer mortgage guarantees to "riskier" homebuyers under its controversial Help To Buy scheme.

Fears have been raised that a recent surge in housing market activity will result in borrowers over-stretching themselves.

Recent figures from Halifax showed that house prices are 5.4% higher than last summer and RICS has said that 40% of surveyors have been seeing house prices rise rather than fall, the highest proportion in almost seven years.

Asking prices in London are up by 10% year-on-year, according to recent figures from property search website Rightmove.

BoE Governor Mark Carney has vowed to prevent any new property bubble

"Sending a clear and simple statement to the public that the Bank of England will not tolerate house price rises above 5% would help restrict excessive price expectations across the country," RICS said.

"This policy would discourage households from taking on excessive debt out of fear of missing out on a price boom, and discourage lenders from rushing to relax their lending standards as they compete for market share."

The industry group notes that limits on property price inflation have been used by a variety of countries, including Canada between 2008 and 2012, when Bank of England Governor Mark Carney headed the country's central bank.

Speaking to a committee of MPs on Thursday, Mr Carney said the Bank was "acutely aware" of the potential threats and was watching the housing market closely as it recovers.

But he insisted the market pick-up should be seen in context and remains a third to a quarter below pre-crisis levels.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders added that talk of a housing boom was "premature".

In its regular "news and views" release, it said that while the housing and mortgage markets are showing "some initial signs of recovery this summer", current house sales were still at lower pre-crisis levels.

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Madeleine McCann: Kate To Attend Libel Hearing

The mother of missing Madeleine McCann will attend a Portuguese court for the start of the family's libel action against a former local police chief which could see them receive £1m in damages if they succeed.

Kate McCann will be accompanied by her mother Susan Healy for the first hearing of the case against Goncalo Amaral who published a book making allegations about the three-year-old's disappearance in 2007.

The McCanns have strongly denied the accusations and say the former detective's claims have damaged the hunt for Madeleine and exacerbated the anguish suffered by her relatives.

Their lawyer Isabel Duarte is expected to set out the case - on behalf of Mrs McCann, her husband Gerry and their twins Sean and Amelie, now eight - at Lisbon's civil court.

The McCanns pose with a computer-generated image of their daughter

Mrs McCann, who is travelling to Portugal without her husband, could have been called as a witness but is not expected to give evidence.

Instead, a number of relatives will appear in the witness box. They will speak about the "damage" caused by Mr Amaral's book which, they claim, poisoned public opinion in Portugal against the family and allegedly deterred people from hunting for Madeleine.

Spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Kate and Gerry McCann remain very confident that they will win the case.

"They have a strong case against Mr Amaral. The matter is now in the hands of their lawyer as it goes through court."

Goncalo Amaral's book "poisoned public opinion", it is claimed

It is understood Mr McCann is staying at the family home in Rothley, Leicestershire, to look after the couple's children.

Madeleine, who was then nearly four, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on May 3 2007, as her parents dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends.

British detectives launched a fresh investigation into her disappearance in July - two years into a review of the case - and believe she could still be alive.

The Portuguese investigation into Madeleine's disappearance is officially closed.

The libel case will be heard today and Friday. It will then be adjourned until next Thursday when the court will sit again for two days. A final hearing is expected on September 27. The judgment is expected to be deferred.

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Children 'Start School Too Young': Experts

Children should start school at age six or seven because of the "profound damage" the current education system is causing, a group of experts has warned.

An early focus on play should be introduced as part of a fundamental overhaul of the system that would bring it more into line with Scandinavian countries, according to 127 experts from academia, teaching, literature and charities.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph they call for changes to a system that they say focuses too early on formal lessons and the Three Rs from the age of four or five when children should be allowed to play instead.

Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the former Children's Commissioner for England and one of the letter's signatories, told the paper: "If you look at a country like Finland, children don't start formal, full-scale education until they are seven.

"These extra few years, in my view, provide a crucial opportunity, when supported by well trained, well paid and highly educated staff, for children to be children."

Other signatories of the letter include Lord Layard, director of the Well-Being Programme at the London School of Economics, Dr David Whitebread, senior lecturer in psychology of education at Cambridge University, and Catherine Prisk, director of Play England.

The newspaper said the letter was circulated by the Save Childhood Movement, which is launching its Too Much, Too Soon campaign.

It will reportedly call for reforms including play-based schooling for children between three and seven.

Wendy Ellyatt, the founding director of the movement, told the Telegraph: "Despite the fact that 90% of countries in the world prioritise social and emotional learning and start formal schooling at six or seven, in England we seem grimly determined to cling on to the erroneous belief that starting sooner means better results later.

"There is nothing wrong with seeking high educational standards and accountability, but there is surely something very wrong indeed if this comes at the cost of natural development."

But the Department for Education described the ideas as "misguided".

A spokesman for Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "These people represent the powerful and badly misguided lobby who are responsible for the devaluation of exams and the culture of low expectations in state schools.

"We need a system that aims to prepare pupils to solve hard problems in calculus or be a poet or engineer - a system freed from the grip of those who bleat bogus pop-psychology about 'self image', which is an excuse for not teaching poor children how to add up."

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Nigel Evans Sex Charges: Deputy Speaker Quits

Deputy Commons Speaker Nigel Evans has resigned after being charged with a string of offences including sexual assault and rape.

The 55-year-old Tory MP is accused of two counts of indecent assault, five counts of sexual assault and one rape count in relation to seven men.

Evans, who represents the Ribble Valley constituency in Lancashire, will appear before magistrates in Preston on September 18.

The director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer QC said: "Following an investigation by Lancashire police, the Crown Prosecution Service has received a file of evidence in the case of Mr Nigel Evans MP which concerns allegations of a sexual nature.

"After careful consideration, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and that it is in the public interest to prosecute Mr Evans."

In a statement outside Preston police station Evans said he would "robustly defend my innocence" against the allegations which he described as "incredulous".

Evans is still working as an MP

The indecent assaults are alleged to have been committed between January 1, 2002, and January 1, 2004; the sexual assaults between January 1, 2009, and April 1, 2013, and the rape between March 29, 2013, and April 1.

Evans, from Pendleton in Lancashire, answered bail on Tuesday having previously been arrested in May and June.

He was rearrested and interviewed by detectives throughout the day before being charged.

The Swansea-born politician had arrived earlier at the police station, driven by his solicitor.

He smiled and said "thanks for coming" to reporters who had gathered outside.

He dismissed the original allegations against him as "completely false", and said they had been made by two people he had "regarded as friends".

He has stepped aside from his Speaker duties since his arrest, but has continued to work as an MP.

He was one of three deputy speakers elected in a secret ballot of MPs in 2010.

Later that year he came out as gay, saying he was "tired of living a lie".

Mr Evans was a vice chairman of the Conservative Party from 1999 to 2001. When Iain Duncan Smith became party leader in 2001, he was promoted to the shadow cabinet as shadow Welsh secretary - a post he held for two years.

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HS2 Rail Link 'Will Boost Economy By £15bn'

The HS2 high-speed rail project will boost the UK economy by £15bn and will be completed within its £42.6bn budget, the Government is to claim.

New research shows the proposed link between London and cities in the Midlands and northern England will drive growth in the regions.

The announcement by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin comes in the week the Commons spending watchdog issued a scathing report on the scheme.

It said the apparent benefits were dwindling as the costs spiralled.

Ministers' case for the massive project was based on "fragile numbers, out-of-date data and assumptions which do not reflect real life" with no evidence that it would aid regional economies rather than sucking even more activity into London, said the Public Accounts Committee report.

But Mr McLoughlin will point to a new analysis by KPMG, commissioned by HS2 Ltd, which shows that the boost to Birmingham's economy will be equivalent to 2.1% to 4.2% of the city region's GDP, there will be a 0.8% to 1.7% benefit to Manchester, 1.6% for Leeds and 0.5% for Greater London.

The proposed HS2 lines

"It addresses that vital question: will HS2 create jobs and growth in the North and Midlands, where they are needed most? The answer is absolutely clear. Yes," he will say.

The Exchequer could benefit from £5bn a year in extra tax receipts as a result of the boost to the economy, KPMG said.

The Transport Secretary's speech forms part of a campaign announced by David Cameron to make the case for HS2 in the face of what he called an "unholy alliance" of sceptics.

Recent critics have included Labour's Alistair Darling who first approved it as chancellor, and the Institute of Directors which dismissed it as "a grand folly".

It is also fiercely opposed by some Tory MPs - many representing communities which will be disrupted by construction work and train noise along the route.

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Jaguar Land Rover To Create 1,700 New Jobs

Jaguar Land Rover has announced 1,700 new jobs are to be created at its Solihull factory as part of a £1.5bn investment in new technology.

The money will be used to develop an innovative aluminium chassis for future models.

The news was revealed by chief executive Dr Ralf Speth at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

"Today's announcement signals Jaguar Land Rover's ambitions to push the boundaries and redefine premium car ownership," he said.

"At Jaguar Land Rover we place the customer at the heart of everything we do and the introduction of a world class all-new aluminium vehicle architecture means we will be more competitive, flexible and efficient delivering exciting new products for our customers around the world."

JLR's first model to have the new architecture will be a Jaguar sports sedan which is due for launch in 2015.

It will also feature the first engine to be built at a new £500m Engine Manufacturing Centre near Wolverhampton.

Jaguar also unveiled its first ever sports crossover concept vehicle, the C-X17, which will also have the new aluminium technology.

The new jobs at the Solihull site in the Midlands bring the total number announced by JLR over the last three years to almost 11,000.

UK Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "Jaguar Land Rover has been experiencing great success over the last couple of years but this ground-breaking project takes Jaguar onto the next level.

"This all-aluminium architecture project typifies the type of innovative and high value R&D that the UK excels in and Government is supporting through the automotive industrial strategy."

The company, which is owned by Tata Motors, has three advanced manufacturing facilities in the UK - in Solihull and Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands, and Halewood on Merseyside.

JLR's Solihull site has been home to Land Rover since production commenced in 1948 and currently builds the Defender, Discovery, All-New Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.

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Baby Foods Found To Lack Nutrients: Study

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

Popular baby foods contain far fewer nutrients than meals prepared at home, according to a new study.

Jars of food made by Cow & Gate, Heinz and Ella's Kitchen, among others, have also been found to contain high levels of sugar.

Researchers from Glasgow University concluded that a child would receive half as much energy and protein from a 'convenience' food than they would from an equivalent-sized home-made meal.

The research team wrote in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood: "The UK infant food market mainly supplies sweet, soft, spoonable foods targeted from age four months.

"Most products are ready-made spoonable foods that are no more energy dense than formula milk and are, generally, much less nutrient dense than home-made foods."

They said weaning foods "would not serve the intended purpose" of giving a baby extra nutrients or a range of tastes and textures.

The researchers also discovered that some foods are being promoted for use at the age of four months, contrary to official guidance.

The Department of Health (DoH) recommends a gradual transition onto solids, starting at six months. It advises that children continue to receive breast or formula milk while they are being weaned.

Many baby foods are targeted from four months of age

The products analysed by the research team were manufactured by Heinz, Boots, Cow & Gate, Hipp Organic, Organix and Ella's Kitchen.

In a statement, Heinz told Sky News: "Generations of parents have trusted Heinz baby foods as safe and nourishing and which are specially prepared to meet babies' nutritional needs with recipes that provide the right tastes and textures."

A spokeswoman for Ella's Kitchen said: "In the United Kingdom, we support breast feeding for the optimal time of six months. However, it may not always be possible or appropriate.

"As the study acknowledges, commercial weaning food is created to complement the nutrition gained from baby's milk.  Ella's Kitchen creates its products with this exact goal. Our products are 100% organic, Soil Association approved and made following European regulations."

Anna Rosier, managing director of Organix, told Sky News: "We support that breastfeeding to six months is the ideal form of first nutrition and ensure all of our stage 1 packaging contains the WHO guidelines.

"We are also aware that some parents decide to wean their little ones before then, so to support these parents we make it clear what foods could be suitable.

"All of our foods are complementary to breastfeeding, and we adhere to the regulations for complementary foods for babies. We do not make foods with the purpose to replace breast milk as the primary source of nutrition before six months.  

"We do not fortify our foods with vitamins and minerals (unless required to by EU Food Regulations) as the fortification of food is not permitted under organic rules."

The DoH recommends a gradual transition to solids starting with cereals, vegetables and fruits, before moving on to proteins.

It recommends babies still continue to receive breast milk or a pint of formula a day while they are being weaned, up to their first birthday.

A spokesperson for the British Specialist Nutrition Association, the body which represents baby food manufacturers, recommended that parents seek advice from a healthcare professional when thinking of starting weaning.

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